Investigation of magnetized, radiative bow-shocks in magnetically accelerated plasma flows

Summary form only given. We present a study of the formation of bow shocks in radiatively-cooled plasma flows, where a magnetic field can be introduced. This work uses the XP generator (260kA, 145ns) at Cornell University to drive an inverse wire array. A quasi-uniform, large scale hydrodynamic flow is generated and accelerated by Lorentz forces to high Mach numbers. This flow impacts a stationary object placed in its path, forming a well-defined Mach cone. In the hydrodynamic case, the shock front is very narrow (~60μm) and shows strong cooling in the post-shock region. In addition, the variation of the Mach cone with position and time evidences the strong cooling in the incident flow.Along with analysis hydrodynamic flows, a magnetic field can be introduced at the target position by utilizing an inductive current division of the main current drive. Depending on the configuration, the ratio of the magnetic pressure to the kinetic ram pressure can be varied and the effect of this field on the shock structure can be directly analyzed in a quasi-2D geometry. Experimental data from laser interferogram and gated self-emission images are compared to 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations. The effect of the magnetic pressure on the shock thickness and form is presented and discussed.