[en] Sawtooth crashes have been investigated on the Rijnhuizen Tokamak Project (RTP) [N. J. Lopes Cardozo et al., Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research, Wuerzburg, 1992 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1993), Vol. 1, p. 271]. Internal disruptions in tokamak plasmas often exhibit an m=1 poloidal mode structure prior to the collapse which can be clearly identified by means of multicamera soft x-ray diagnostics. In this paper tomographic reconstructions of such m=1 modes are analyzed with a new method, based on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) invariants computed from the two-dimensional emissivity profiles, which quantifies the amount of profile flattening not only after the crash but also during the precursor oscillations. The results are interpreted by comparing them with two models which simulate the measurements of the m=1 redistribution of soft x-ray emissivity prior to the sawtooth crash. One model is based on the magnetic reconnection model of Kadomtsev. The other involves ideal MHD motion only. In cases where differences in magnetic topology between the two models cannot be seen in the tomograms, the analysis of profile flattening has an advantage. The analysis shows that in RTP the clearly observed m=1 displacement of some sawteeth requires the presence of convective ideal MHD motion, whereas other precursors are consistent with magnetic reconnection of up to 75% of the magnetic flux within the q=1 surface. The possibility of ideal interchange combined with enhanced cross-field transport is not excluded. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

[en] We have made the first detailed measurements of a diffusive supersonic radiation wave in the laboratory. A 10 mg/cm³ SiO₂ foam is radiatively heated by the x-ray flux from a laser-irradiated hohlraum. The resulting radiation wave propagates axially through the optically thick foam and is measured via time-resolved x-ray imaging as it breaks out the far end. The data show that the radiation wave breaks out at the center prior to breaking out at the edges, indicating a significant curvature in the radiation front. This curvature is primarily due to energy loss into the walls surrounding the foam. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

[en] X-ray backlighter images (radiographs) of current-induced explosions of 7.5-25 μm diam metal wires show for the first time μm scale, time-resolved details of a persistent foamlike liquid-vapor structure of the expanded wire core. Experiments with refractory and highly resistive metals, with current rising to 2-5 kA per wire in 350 ns, show that a substantial portion of the wire material is not vaporized but remains in a condensed state. As the current damps out, the remaining liquid phase material coalesces into separate droplets. (c) 1999 The American Physical Society

[en] We compare x-ray fluorescence holography (XFH) and multiple-energy x-ray holography (MEXH), two techniques that have recently been used to obtain experimental three-dimensional atomic images. For single-energy holograms, these methods are equivalent by virtue of the optical reciprocity theorem. However, XFH can only record holographic information at the characteristic fluorescence energies of the emitting species, while MEXH can record holographic information at any energy above the fluorescent edge of the emitter, thus enabling the suppression of real-twin overlaps and other aberrations and artifacts in atomic images. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

[en] Foil targets irradiated by the Naval Research Laboratory Nike KrF laser were imaged in the x-ray region with two-dimensional spatial resolution in the 2 endash 10 μm range. The images revealed the smoothness of the emission from target and backlighter foils, the acceleration of the target foils, and the growth of Rayleigh endash Taylor instabilities that were seeded by patterns on the irradiated sides of CH foils

[en] We describe x-ray streak camera measurements of wall motion and plasma filling in hohlraum targets heated by the AWE HELEN laser. An x-ray streak camera using a transmission mode photocathode on a thin plastic substrate (1000 Angstrom Parylene-N) was coupled to a 15 degree incidence gold mirror to define a spectral channel response of width 45 eV full width at half-maximum centered around 120 eV. A 20 μm diam pinhole was used to image the hohlraum interior onto the photocathode slit of the streak camera, via the gold reflector. Plasma expansion from the laser hot spots, and the indirectly heated wall, was recorded. The experimental data are compared with simulations using the AWE Lagrangian hydrocode NYM. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

[en] We have recently designed, built, and fielded a versatile, multichannel x-ray pinhole camera. The Los Alamos pinhole camera was designed to fit into any 6 in. manipulator (SIM) which is a standardized target chamber diagnostic tube. There are currently compatible SIMs available at the Trident, Omega, and NOVA laser systems. The camera uses nine pinholes in a 3x3 array to produce images at the film plane. The film housing is designed to hold multiple sheets of stacked x-ray film which also uses a dark slide to protect the film before exposure. Magnifications of 12, 8, 4, and 2X are selected by slip-on nose cones, which support pinholes, collimators, and blast shields. Individual channel filtering is provided by a 3x3 filter pack containing nine separate filter sub packs. Spatial resolution is limited by the pinhole diffraction limit and field of view is dependent on magnification and filter pack diameter. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

[en] The energy response of a new semiconductor detector in the ASDEX Upgrade Tokamak for plasma x-ray tomography studies is characterized using synchrotron radiation from a 2.5 GeV positron storage ring at the National Institute for High Energy Physics in Japan. This international collaborating research clarifies a fairly good agreement between the x-ray energy response data and our recently proposed theoretical predictions for such a semiconductor x-ray-detector response. The x-ray response for several positions on the active area of the detector unit is studied; a good uniformity observed guarantees that the detector can employ any sized and shaped collimator for the x-ray tomography regardless of any correction factor coming from the response nonuniformity on the detector active area. Operational conditions of the detector for the ASDEX Upgrade plasma diagnostics are optimized using its capacitance measurements as a function of an applied bias as well as the numerical evaluations of the detector response; these are also directly verified by the synchrotron-radiation experiments. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

[en] We developed an advanced Kirkpatrick endash Baez (AKB) x-ray microscope which consisted of two hyperbolic mirrors and two elliptic mirrors. The spatial resolution of approx-lt 3 μm was realized over ∼1 mm diam. This AKB microscope was used for x-ray imaging in laser fusion experiments. Laser absorption nonuniformity with a large wave number on a spherical solid target or a plane slab target was estimated by measurements of x-ray emission from the target surface with the microscope. The x-ray images of the imploded core plasmas were also obtained with the AKB microscope, changing the laser focus condition and the laser energy balance. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

[en] Radiography techniques utilizing large-area x-ray sources (typically ≤7 keV) and pinhole-imaging gated x-ray diagnostics have long been used at the Nova laser facility. However, for targets requiring higher-energy x-ray backlighters (>9 keV), low conversion efficiencies and pinhole losses combine to make this scheme unworkable. The technique of point projection radiography has been improved upon to make imaging at high x-ray energies feasible. In this scheme a open-quotes pointclose quotes source of x-rays, usually a small diameter (≤25 μm) fiber, is illuminated with a single, 100-ps pulse from the Nova laser. A gated x-ray imager with a 500-ps electronic gate width is used to record the projected image. [K. S. Budil et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67, 485 (1996).] The experimental challenges this technique presents and experimental results will be discussed. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics