Electromagnetic kinetic simulations of a deuterium gas puff z-pinch

Summary form only given: A deuterium gas puff z-pinch has been shown to be a significant source of neutrons. Recent experiments on the Z accelerator at 15 MA current have suggested that the dominant process is thermonuclear. This process has been shown to have a favorable neutron yield scaling with current Y_n~I. In this paper, we present results from 1D and 2D simulations of deuterium z-pinches with the implicit, fully electromagnetic and kinetic particle-in-cell code LSP. Unlike standard MHD, the LSP algorithms permit non-Maxwellian particle distributions, finite mean-free-path effects, self-consistent anomalous resistivity and charge separation. Calculated Y_n from a Monte Carlo treatment of D-D fusion reactions are compared with Z measurements and MHD simulation results. 1D simulated neutron yields exhibit the I current scaling over the 7-20 MA range in simulated currents. 2D simulated neutron yield from the compressed 445-mg mass deuterium pinch driven by a 15-MA current (shot 1678 on Z) are in reasonable agreement with the measured yield. Rayleigh Taylor growth and non-thermal charged particle generation will be discussed.