Time Resolving Study of D-D Reaction at the Plasma Focus Device

Summary form given only. The plasma focus PF-1 (MX) device at IPPLM Warsaw is convenient for the study of mechanism of D-D reaction due to a relative high neutron yield and horizontal position of a discharge axis. Scintillation detectors could be placed at the distances between 7 and 85 m from the neutron source in both directions, i.e. upstream and downstream. This geometry gives unique opportunity to determine the time and velocity of produced neutrons and compare them with X-rays, fast electrons and visible, X-ray and shadow frames. The dominant part of neutrons is generated by beam-target mechanism of deuterons moving from the anode in the downstream direction´. small part of neutrons with the energy above 2.45 MeV is detected upstream as well. This contribution deals with a few problems. The first one is the possibility of the existence of thermonuclear mechanism and/or the beam-target mechanism upstream. The second discussed problem concerns to the correlation of neutron production with the necking of the instability and forming of a dense and hot structure at heal of the umbrella-shape current sheath. The third problem concerns to differences in temporal distribution of fast electrons (energies 50-400 keV) registered with Cherenkov detector downstream, upstream and side-on. The fourth question concerns to the temporal evolution of hard X-rays detected with scintillation detectors outside the discharge chamber (photon energies above 100 keV) and inside the chamber (photon energies above 7 keV). Then we discuss the possibility of heating of the dense structure by the fast deuterons producing at the necking. Finally we describe diagnostics which is being prepared for future study, i.e. scintillation detectors placed side-on for more detailed description of the radial distribution of neutrons energies and shadow laser diagnostics with a few beams for more detail visualization of dense plasma structures during neutron production.