We present the first fully kinetic, collisional, and electromagnetic simulations of the complete time evolution of a deuterium gas puff $z$ pinch. Recent experiments with 15-MA current pinches have suggested that the dominant neutron-production mechanism is thermonuclear. We observe distinct differences between the kinetic and magnetohydrodynamic simulations in the pinch evolution with the kinetic simulations producing both thermonuclear and beam-target neutrons. The kinetic approach demonstrated in this Letter represents a viable alternative for performing future plasma physics calculations.

• Received 31 August 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.255002