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Supersonic, counterstreaming plasmas were produced by ablating plasma from the inside surfaces of two parallel disks made of aluminum and magnesium, respectively, with a 0.53 pm laser at an intensity of lOi W/cm2 for 1.3 nsec. Diagnostics included holographic interferometry, a time-integrated x-ray pinhole camera and a gated x-ray crystal spectrograph with imaging slits. The plasmas interpenetrate for the first half of the laser pulse but stagnate once the electron density exceeds 5 X 102' cmF3. Spectroscopic measurements suggest a coronal electron temperature of -800 eV and an ion temperature of -15 keV in the stagnated plasma. The observations are in good agreement with a two ion fluid model of interpenetrating plasmas in which the dominant slowing down process is ion-ion collisions.

Inertial confinement fusion implosions using capsules with two concentric shells separated by a low density region (double shells) are reported which closely follow one dimensional (1D) radiatively driven hydrodynamics simulations. Capsule designs which mitigate Au M-band radiation asymmetries appear to correspond more closely to 1D simulations than targets lacking mitigation of hohlraum drive M-band nonuniformities. One capsule design achieves over 50% of the unperturbed 1D calculated yield at a convergence ratio of 25.5, comparable to that of a double-shell design for an ignition capsule at the National Ignition Facility.

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Analysis is presented of K- and L-shell spectra obtained from Ar and Xe dopants seeded into the fuel region of plastic capsules indirectly imploded using the Nova laser. Stark broadening measurements of the n=3-1 lines in H- and He-like Ar (Ar Ly-β and He-β, respectively) are used to infer fuel electron density, while spatially averaged fuel electron temperature is deduced from the ratio of the intensities of these lines. Systematic variations in Ar spectral features are observed as a function of drive conditions. A spectral postprocessing code has been developed to simulate experimental spectra by taking into account spatial gradients and line transfer effects, and shows good agreement with experimental data. It is shown that correct modeling of the x-ray emission requires a proper treatment of the coupled radiative transfer and kinetics problem. Continuum lowering effects are shown not to affect diagnostic line ratios, within the confines of a simple model. A recently developed diagnostic based on fitting measured line profiles of Ar He-β and its associated dielectronic satellites to theory is shown to provide a simultaneous measure of electron temperature and electron density. L-shell Xe spectroscopy is under development as an electron temperature and electron-density diagnostic. Density and temperature sensitive ratios of spectral features each consisting of many lines have been identified. Observed Xe spectra from imploded cores show the same qualitative behavior with temperature, as predicted by model calculations of Xe emission spectra. Stark broadening of Ne-like Xe 4-2 lines appears viable as an electron density diagnostic for Ne∼1025 cm−3 and is under continuing investigation. (Based on the invited paper 8I3 at the 1992 APS/DPP annual meeting [Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 37, 1553 (1992)].)