title: Comparisons of dense-plasma-focus kinetic simulations with experimental measurements.
abstract: Dense-plasma-focus (DPF) Z-pinch devices are sources of copious high-energy electrons and ions, x rays, and neutrons. The mechanisms through which these physically simple devices generate such high-energy beams in a relatively short distance are not fully understood and past optimization efforts of these devices have been largely empirical. Previously we reported on fully kinetic simulations of a DPF and compared them with hybrid and fluid simulations of the same device. Here we present detailed comparisons between fully kinetic simulations and experimental data on a 1.2 kJ DPF with two electrode geometries, including neutron yield and ion beam energy distributions. A more intensive third calculation is presented which examines the effects of a fully detailed pulsed power driver model. We also compare simulated electromagnetic fluctuations with direct measurement of radiofrequency electromagnetic fluctuations in a DPF plasma. These comparisons indicate that the fully kinetic model captures the essential physics of these plasmas with high fidelity, and provide further evidence that anomalous resistivity in the plasma arises due to a kinetic instability near the lower hybrid frequency.
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Link
authors.affiliation: Voss Scientific, LLC, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ellsworth
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Falabella
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D055615:Electrical Equipment and Supplies; D004566:Electrodes; D055590:Electromagnetic Phenomena; D007477:Ions; D007700:Kinetics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009502:Neutrons; D010507:Periodicity; D011846:Radio Waves
chemical_list: D007477:Ions