Interactions between two plasma bubbles using radial foil configurations

Summary form only given. We have been investigating high energy density (HED) laboratory plasmas using radial foil configurations in order to understand basic HED plasma phenomena such as shocks. In radial foil configurations, a 5 micron thick aluminum foil is connected to the anode of a pulsed-power generator. A cathode contacts the foil at its center. This cathode is composed of a bent stainless steel pin with diameter 0.5mm and whose spacing is an experimental parameter. Its topography resembles an inverted U, and makes contact with the foil along the horizontal bar. During the pulsed-power discharge, two plasma bubbles form above the branches of the U-cathode. The magnetic field null between the bubbles pulls them together and they rapidly collide. We observe the formation of a sheet of plasma that manifests at the center of the system before and during the collision of the bubbles. This research will characterize the plasma electron density and velocity measured from the sheet formation to bubble collision.