Anomalous resistivity in a Z-pinch system

Microturbulence-mediated anomalous resistivity is a possible cause of observed anomalous heating in z-pinch implosions. Conditions seen in MHD z-pinch simulations suggest that the ion-acoustic instability could be a significant generator of turbulence. We employ a quasilinear kinetic theory to investigate electron heating in the presence of ion-acoustic turbulence in a moderately strong magnetic field. To lowest order, turbulence increases the effective electron-ion collision frequency. Simple scaling arguments for developed turbulence show that the collision frequency could be enhanced by one or two orders of magnitude in typical z-pinch plasmas. Turbulent, strong-magnetic field heating produces depressed-tail electron distributions, but with local enhancements. The effect on resistivity of distribution function shape depends on the magnetic field, but turbulence always increases resistivity because of the higher effective collision frequency. Electrical resistivity of z-pinch plasmas is calculated as a function of turbulence level.