Time dependent X-ray emission from a krypton gas puff Z-pinch plasma

Summary form only given, as follows. In this study we investigate and assess the radiative potential of a superclass pulsed power driven Z-pinch plasma load. The generator is represented by a driver capable of producing short circuit currents of 60, 80, and 100 mega-amps to a load over 100 ns current risetime. For a prescribed set of electrical characteristics we will characterize the radiative performance of Rayleigh-Taylor stable loads. The purpose of this investigation is to compare and contrast the differences resulting from: (1) two temperatures vs. one temperature and (2) a time dependent vs. an equilibrium treatment of the non-LTE ionization physics and their influence on the G and K-shell dynamics and how they influence the K-shell yield for krypton loads. The loads are represented as either 3 cm radius annular shells or uniform fills of 3, 5, and 7 cm radius and 3 cm length, respectively. The simulations are done with a multi-zone 1-D two temperature radiation MHD model self-consistently coupled to a driving circuit. The results show that both time dependence and two temperatures affect the implosion dynamics and the magnitude of the K-shell yields but that the total yield remains unaffected for the most part. For a 3 cm radius load the shell is more efficient at converting kinetic energy to K-shell radiation than a uniform fill at the same radius. The 5 and 7 cm uniform fills are stable and good K-shell radiators. Unfortunately, the two temperature time dependent simulated yields above 10 keV are found to be significantly less than the one temperature and equilibrium simulations.