The formation and evolution of a collisional aluminum plasma jet created by optical laser irradiation of triangular grooves with pulses of 120ps duration at an intensity of 1x10(12)W cm(-2) were studied with experiments and simulations. Series of high-contrast soft x-ray laser interferograms obtained with a 46.9nm laser mapped the plasma density evolution of an initially narrow plasma jet that expands along the symmetry plane and evolves into a broader plasma plume with significant side lobes. Two-dimensional simulations performed using the radiation hydrodynamic code HYDRA reveal that the jet formation is initiated by accelerated material ablated from the vertex and is augmented by the continual sequential arrival of wall material along the symmetry plane, where it collides and is redirected outward. Radiative cooling is identified as an important process in maintaining the collimation of the jet. These results demonstrate that well collimated collisional plasma jets with parameters in a range of interest can be generated with low-energy laser pulses (<1J) , opening the possibility of studying relevant plasma phenomena in a small laboratory setting.
PACS number(s): 52.50. Jm, 42.55.Vc AbstractThe evolution of dense aluminum and carbon plasmas produced by laser irradiation of 500 µm diameter semi-cylindrical targets was studied using soft x-ray laser interferometry. Plasmas created heating the cavity walls with 120 picosecond duration optical laser pulses of ~1×10 12 W cm -2 peak intensity were observed to expand and converge on axis to form a localized high density plasma region. Electron density maps were measured using a 46.9 nm wavelength tabletop capillary discharge soft x-ray laser probe in combination with an amplitude division interferometer based on diffraction gratings. The measurements show that the plasma density on axis exceeds 1×10 20 cm -3 . The electron density profiles are compared with simulations conducted using the hydrodynamic code HYDRA, which show that the abrupt density increase near the axis is dominantly caused by the convergence of plasma generated at the bottom of the groove during laser irradiation.2
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.
For decades the analysis of interferometry have relied on the approximation that the index of refraction in plasmas is due solely to the free electrons. This general assumption makes the index of refraction always less than one. However, recent soft x-ray laser interferometry experiments with Aluminum plasmas at wavelengths of 14.7 nm and 13.9 nm have shown fringes that bend the opposite direction than would be expected when using that approximation. Analysis of the data demonstrated that this effect is due to bound electrons that contribute significantly to the index of refraction of multiply ionized plasmas, and that this should be encountered in other plasmas at different wavelengths. Recent studies of Silver and Tin plasmas using a 46.9 nm probe beam generated by a Ne-like Ar capillary discharge soft-ray laser identified plasmas with an index of refraction greater than one, as was predicted by computer calculations. In this paper we present new interferometric results obtained with Carbon plasmas at 46.9 nm probe wavelength that clearly show plasma regions with an index of refraction greater than one. Computations suggest that in this case the phenomenon is due to the dominant contribution of bound electrons from doubly ionized carbon ions to the index of refraction. The results reaffirm that bound electrons can strongly influence the index of refraction of numerous plasmas over a broad range of soft x-ray wavelengths.
We present the calculated prediction and the experimental confirmation that doubly ionized Ag and Sn plasmas can have an index of refraction greater than one for soft x-ray wavelengths. Interferometry experiments conducted using a capillary discharge soft x-ray laser operating at a wavelength of 46.9 nm ͑26.44 eV͒ confirm that in few times ionized laser-created plasmas of these elements the anomalous dispersion from bound electrons can dominate the free electron contribution, making the index of refraction greater than one. The results confirm that bound electrons can strongly influence the index of refraction of numerous plasmas over a broad range of soft x-ray wavelengths confirming recent observations. The understanding of index of refraction at short wavelengths will become even more essential during the next decade as x-ray free electron lasers will become available to probe a wider variety of plasmas at higher densities and shorter wavelengths.
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