Radiation Cooling Effect on the Plasma Focus Pinch

Plasma focus device produced hot and dense plasma in the form of pinch by high voltage (kV) and high current discharge (kA) through a prefilled gas. The pinched plasma is a good source of multiple radiation including ion beam, electron beam, neutrons and X-rays. The radiative energy from the pinching plasma is responsible for cooling and in critical case leading to radiative collapse. In this work, the effect of radiative cooling and radiative collapse on a plasma focus is numerically simulated in Lee Model. The model parameters are obtained by fitted against experimental measured current. With similar sets of operating parameters and tuned to suitable condition when pinching is obtained at current peak, the phenomena of radiative cooling and in some cases radiative collapse are clearly indicated in the modeled results.