Formation, cascade development, and rupture of the X-pinch neck

Data from high-resolution x-ray shadow photography of an X-pinch in the dio de of a high-power dense-plasma generator are presented. The processes lead ing to the formation of a minidiode, the compression of the neck arising in it, and the cutoff and subsequent emptying of the neck are studied. Cascad e formation of short-lived structures, which consistently reproduce the for m of the minidiode on small scales before the x-ray burst, is observed in t he course of the implosion. The position of the x-ray emission points is de termined. (C) 2000 MAIK "Nauka/ Interperiodica".