X-ray production in long-scalelength laser-plasma interaction experiments
The interaction of a high intensity laser beam (I greater than or equal to 10/sup 14/ W/cm/sup 2/) with long-scalelength plasmas (absolute value of n/sub e/del n/sub e/ less than or equal to 400 ..mu..m at 0.1 critical density) is being studied experimentally by using two beams from the Pharos II Nd laser (lambda = 1.054 ..mu..m). A low-intensity defocused beam of 4-nsec duration produces background plasmas of variable scalelength from a solid plastic target. A 0.3-nsec focused beam timed to arrive on target near the peak of the long pulse interacts with this long-scalelength plasma. Temporally and spatially integrated bremsstrahlung intensities from 1 to 50 keV are measured. X-ray spectra deduced from the measurements are used to evaluate target heating (based on 1 to 5 keV x-rays) and to determine the relative importance of energetic electron production by plasma instabilities in the underdense region (based on 10 to 50 keV x-rays).
- Research Organization:
- Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AI08-79DP40092
- OSTI ID:
- 5663315
- Report Number(s):
- NRL-MR-5174; CONF-8306142-1; ON: DE84002472
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 13. annual anomalous absorption conference, Banff, Canada, 5 Jun 1983
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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