Analysis of Z-pinch dynamics with application to fibers

A computer-aided study of Z-pinch plasma transport reveals a high level of structured behavior. The equations asymptote into time and space separable forms, with the profiles of all the variables determined solely by the time dependence of the plasma current. Plasma profiles (normalized with respect to their values on the axis and to the plasma radius) are almost independent of the level of Bremsstrahlung radiation and thus can be determined using the self-similar pattern of a nonradiating plasma. Radiation causes the plasma column to collapse within a finite time and is accompanied by a rapid growth in the density and pressure. The temporal growth of the temperature initially follows that of the current, but if the current crosses the Pease limit, the temperature also rapidly grows.