Supersonic radiatively cooled rotating flows and jets in the laboratory

Phys Rev Lett. 2008 Jan 25;100(3):035001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.035001. Epub 2008 Jan 23.

Abstract

The first laboratory astrophysics experiments to produce a radiatively cooled plasma jet with dynamically significant angular momentum are discussed. A new configuration of wire array z pinch, the twisted conical wire array, is used to produce convergent plasma flows each rotating about the central axis. Collision of the flows produces a standing shock and jet that each have supersonic azimuthal velocities. By varying the twist angle of the array, the rotation velocity of the system can be controlled, with jet rotation velocities reaching approximately 18% of the propagation velocity.