Deuterium liner and multiparametric studies of the formation of an inverse Z-pinch

A method and results of measurements are presented of the ion energy distribution in a deuterium liner accelerated in the inverse Z-pinch, in which the plasma is accelerated electrodynamically from the liner axis. Knowledge of the deuteron energy distribution is of primary importance for the correct interpretation of the experimental results from the study of the dd-reaction in the range of infralow energies with the use of a liner plasma. Experiments were carried out in a high-current pulsed accelerator (I=950 kA, τ=80 ns) at the Institute of High-Current Electronics of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Tomsk, Russia). In the initial state, the liner is a supersonic hollow deuterium jet 32 mm in diameter and 20 mm in length. The liner parameters were measured with the help of optical detectors of H α and H β deuterium lines and magnetic probes arranged in a radial direction (along the direction the liner expansion). In addition, scintillation spectrometers and BF3 counters were used to measure the intensity of the neutron flux produced in the d + d → 3He + n reaction. The results obtained by simultaneously analyzing the data from magnetic probes, optical detectors, and neutron detectors point to the possibility of using a rather simple method for measuring the parameters of the liner accelerated up to energies of 3–6 keV.