Effect of axial magnetic flux compression on the magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability (theory)

Abstract

Possible effects on the liner implosion of an early plasma formation outside the liner are discussed. At the modest density and temperature this plasma is a sufficiently good conductor to trap the pre-imposed axial magnetic field. The rising axial current compresses the plasma and axial field towards the liner surface and creates high-magnetic-field filamentary structures that seed the perturbations by the mechanism proposed in Ref. 1, but in a significantly higher field. Possible sources of this plasma are briefly discussed.