Production of radiatively cooled hypersonic plasma jets and links to astrophysical jets

We present results of high energy density laboratory experiments on the production of supersonic radiatively cooled plasma jets with dimensionless parameters (Mach number ~30, cooling parameter ~1 and density contrast ρj/ρa ~ 10) similar to those in young stellar objects jets. The jets are produced using two modifications of wire array Z-pinch driven by 1 MA, 250 ns current pulse of MAGPIE facility at Imperial College, London. In the first set …