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PUFFIN: a new microsecond pulser for magnetized high energy density plasma experiments at MIT

Jack Hare
Plasma Science and Fusion Center

Abstract: Pulsed-power generators generate magnetized, high-energy-density plasmas using intense pulses of electrical current (~ 1MA), which heat initially solid targets to the plasma state. These intense currents also generate
strong magnetic fields (~ 10 T), setting up JxB forces which accelerate the plasmas to high speeds (~ 100s of km/s). By carefully designing the geometry of these experiments, we can arrange for collisions between plasma flows, or with solid targets, generating hot, dense plasmas (~100 eV, ~10^18 cm^-3). These hot, dense, magnetized plasmas are ideal for testing fundamental concepts in plasma physics, and mimicking the extreme conditions found in astrophysical objects.

In this talk I will discuss PUFFIN (puffin.mit.edu), a new pulsed-power facility that will start construction at MIT in 2021. PUFFIN's unique capability is a microsecond drive time, much longer than existing pulsed-power facilities, which are optimised for driving implosions in around 100 ns. These long drive times open up the new frontiers in high-energy-density laboratory astrophysics, enabling us to study the steady-state behaviour of magnetized turbulence or the growth of instabilities such as plasmoids in magnetic reconnection.

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