Implosions, equilibria, and stability of rotating, radiating Z-pinch plasmas

The effects of uniform rotation on the dynamics, equilibria and stability of cylindrically symmetric, radiating Z-pinch plasmas are studied. Rotation changes the Bennett and Pease–Braginskii equilibria qualitatively, eliminating radiative collapse for both quasisteady and dynamic plasmas. In particular, a steady rotating plasma column can support any current above the Pease–Braginskii value, with Ohmic heating balanced by radiative losses. Stabilizing effect of rotation on the m=0 mode of Rayleigh–Taylor instability of a hollow plasma shell was found for long perturbation wavelengths.