Ring formations in a corona of an exploding wire

The ''hot point'' formation effect as a result of a wire explosure in the diodes of high power (1011-1012 W) generators of relativistic electron beams is known. To clarify the nature of ''hot points'', a series of experiments was conducted with the ''Triton'' accelerator. The plasma channel in the experiments was created by transmitting current pulses of approximately 50 ns duration and < or approximately 200 kA amplitude via tungsten wires of 10 and 50 μm in diameter and 12 mm long. X-ray time-resolved photographs are used to shown that the stages of constriction development are preceded by the occurrence of overheated ring structures. Their origin is explained by the formation of current layers