Study of the Ion-Distribution Dynamics of an Aluminum Laser-Produced Plasma with Picosecond Resolution

M. Fajardo; P. Audebert; P. Renaudin; H. Yashiro; R. Shepherd; J. C. Gauthier; C. Chenais-Popovics

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.1231

Study of the Ion-Distribution Dynamics of an Aluminum Laser-Produced Plasma with Picosecond Resolution

M. Fajardo, P. Audebert, P. Renaudin, H. Yashiro, R. Shepherd, J. C. Gauthier, and C. Chenais-Popovics

Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1231 – Published 12 February 2001

Abstract

The ion-distribution dynamics of an expanding aluminum plasma produced by a nanosecond laser pulse at moderate intensity ( $10^{13} W {cm}^{- 2}$ ) is studied by point-projection x-ray absorption spectroscopy with unprecedented, picosecond, time resolution. We show that the ionic populations measured as a function of distance to the target and at different probing times differ markedly from those predicted by widely accepted collisional radiative models coupled to hydrodynamic simulations. We discuss the effects of radiation, conduction, and expansion cooling on the spatiotemporal ionic distribution evolution.

Received 18 September 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.1231

Authors & Affiliations

M. Fajardo^1,4, P. Audebert¹, P. Renaudin², H. Yashiro^1,*, R. Shepherd³, J. C. Gauthier¹, and C. Chenais-Popovics¹

¹Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, UMR7605, CNRS-CEA-Université Paris VI-École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France
²Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel, France
³Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94550
⁴GOLP, Instituto Superior Téchnico, 1 Avenida Rovisco Pais, Lisboa, Portugal