Measurements of the time-dependent spatial magnetic field distribution and structure of a Z-pinch plasma throughout the stagnation process

Knowledge of the time dependent magnetic field spatial distribution in imploding plasmas (such as a Z-pinch plasma) is of high importance, due to the key role of the magnetic field in determining the characteristics of the imploding and stagnating plasma. Theoretical models of Z pinch plasmas strongly rely on the magnetic field distribution for the predictions of the hydrodynamic and atomic processes, and of the energy coupling. Polarization spectroscopy previously employed in our laboratory, only yielded the field distribution prior to stagnation and away from the pinch axis
¹
. Indeed, at stagnation and generally in high-energy-density experiments, this technique is impractical, since the Stark and Doppler broadenings dominate the spectral line shape, disallowing the determination of the Zeeman effect
²
.