Collimation of dense plasma jets created by low-energy laser pulses and studied with soft x-ray laser interferometry

The physical mechanisms driving the collimation of dense plasma jets created by low-energy ( approximately 0.6 J) laser pulse irradiation of triangular grooves were studied for different target materials using soft-x-ray interferometry and hydrodynamic code simulations. The degree of collimation of...

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Published inPhysical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics Vol. 81; no. 3 Pt 2; p. 036408
Main Authors Purvis, Michael A, Grava, Jonathan, Filevich, Jorge, Ryan, Duncan P, Moon, Stephen J, Dunn, James, Shlyaptsev, Vyacheslav N, Rocca, Jorge J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.03.2010
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Summary:The physical mechanisms driving the collimation of dense plasma jets created by low-energy ( approximately 0.6 J) laser pulse irradiation of triangular grooves were studied for different target materials using soft-x-ray interferometry and hydrodynamic code simulations. The degree of collimation of jets created by irradiating C, Al, Cu, and Mo targets at intensities of I=1x10(12) W cm(-2) with 120 ps laser pulses was observed to increase significantly with the atomic number. Radiation cooling is found to be the cause of the increased collimation, while the main effect of the increase in mass is to slow the jet evolution.
ISSN:1550-2376
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevE.81.036408