The impact of Hall physics on magnetized high energy density plasma jets

Hall physics is often neglected in high energy density plasma jets due to the relatively high electron density of such jets (n(e) similar to 10(19) cm(-3)). However, the vacuum region surrounding the jet has much lower densities and is dominated by Hall electric field. This electric field redirects plasma flows towards or away from the axis, depending on the radial current direction. A resulting change in the jet density has been observed experimentally. Furthermore, if an axial field is applied on the jet, the Hall effect is enhanced and ignoring it leads to serious discrepancies between experimental results and numerical simulations. By combining high currents (similar to 1 MA) and magnetic field helicity (15 degrees angle) in a pulsed power generator such as COBRA, plasma jets can be magnetized with a 10 T axial field. The resulting field enhances the impact of the Hall effect by altering the density profile of current-free plasma jets and the stability of current-carrying plasma jets (e.g., Z-pinches). (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.