Tomographic imaging of nonsymmetric multicomponent tailored supersonic flows from structured gas nozzles.

We report experimental results on the production and characterization of asymmetric and composite supersonic gas flows, created by merging independently controllable flows from multiple nozzles. We demonstrate that the spatial profiles are adjustable over a large range of parameters, including gas density, density gradient, and atomic composition. The profiles were precisely characterized using three-dimensional tomography. The creation and measurement of complex gas flows is relevant to numerous applications, ranging from laser-produced plasmas to rocket thrusters.