Studies on the spatial evolution of pulsed helium plasma

Abstract

The high-density transient plasma, streaming from a pulsed plasma accelerator (PPA), was diagnosed with a Triple Langmuir probe (TLP) for spatial mapping of the stream in terms of plasma density and temperature. A contour plot for density and temperature shows a distinct form of a highly dense island of plasma with varied plasma temperatures. The formation of such highly dense islands can be correlated with the formation of distinct plasma structures, as observed in astrophysical plasmas and fusion plasma. The results of TLP were supported by the intensity variation derived from signals of a photodetector system. The plasma stream imaged with high-speed video camera also showed the density fluctuation inside the plasma stream. The estimated maximum density and temperature were ∼7.2 × 10²⁰ m⁻³ and ∼28 eV, respectively.