In numerous experiments, magnetic energy coupled to strongly radiating $Z$-pinch plasmas exceeds the thermalized kinetic energy, sometimes by a factor of 2–3. We demonstrate that the enhanced energy coupling may be due to the buoyancy rise of toroidal magnetic flux tubes converging to the axis through the unstable pinch plasma. We derive an explicit formula for the enhanced dissipation rate and apply this formula to reconsider an old problem of power balance in a steady-state $Z$ pinch, and then to analyze a new challenge of producing $K$-shell 3 to 10 keV radiation in long-pulse $Z$-pinch implosions.

• Received 18 October 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.3326