Self-compression of laser-produced plasma into thin monovelocity shell

Laser-produced plasma-wall interaction

Jets of laser–generated plasma represent a flexible and well-defined model environment for investigation of plasma interactions with solid surfaces (walls). The pilot experiments carried out on the iodine laser system (5–200 J, 0.44 mm, 0.25–0.3 ns, ,1 10 W/cm) at the PALS Research Centre in Prague are reported. Modification of macroscopic characteristics of the Al plasma jets produced at laser...

Thin-shell instability in collisionless plasma.

Thin-shell instability is one process which can generate entangled structures in astrophysical plasma on collisional (fluid) scales. It is driven by a spatially varying imbalance between the ram pressure of the inflowing upstream plasma and the downstream's thermal pressure at a nonplanar shock. Here we show by means of a particle-in-cell simulation that an analog process can destabilize a thin...

Structure of an exploding laser-produced plasma.

We describe the first-ever volumetric, time-resolved measurements performed with a moving probe within an expanding dense plasma, embedded in a background magnetized plasma. High-resolution probe measurements of the magnetic field and floating potential in multiple 2D cut planes combined with a 1 Hz laser system reveal complex three-dimensional current systems within the expanding plasma. Stati...

Expansion dynamics of laser produced plasma

We consider the applicability of the isentropic, adiabatic gas dynamical model of plume expansion for laser ablation in vacuum. We show that the model can be applied to ionized plumes and estimate the upper electron temperature limit on the applicability of the isentropic approximation. The model predictions are compared with Langmuir ion probe measurements and deposition profiles obtained for ...

Characterization of electrostatic shock in laser-produced optically-thin plasma flows using optical diagnostics