Spectroscopic measurements on a high-density Z-pinch plasma

Using results of the quasistatic line-broadening theory applied to the blue wing of the H/sub β/line produced in a hydrogen Z-pinch discharge, a measured average electron density of at least 1.2 x 1019 cm-3 during the first compression has been obtained. The fitting remains good for wavelength displacements from the unperturbed line center somewhat smaller than the critical displacement for electron impacts given by the quasistatic theory, but clearly fails near the line center, where collisions dominate the profile. The measured density is consistent with relative continuum intensity measurements obtained from similar devices by other authors. The pinch plasma represents a target of critical electron density for CO2 laser radiation, and laser-plasma interaction experiments using this target are under way