Applied spectroscopy in pulsed power plasmas

Applied spectroscopy is a powerful diagnostic tool for high energy density plasmas produced with modern pulsed power facilities. These facilities create unique plasma environments with a broad range of electron densities 1013–1023 cm−3 and temperatures 100–103 eV immersed in strong magnetic 100 T and electric up to 1 GV/m fields. This paper surveys the application of plasma spectroscopy to diagnose a variety of plasma conditions generated by pulsed power sources including: magnetic field penetration into plasma, measuring the time-dependent spatial distribution of 1 GV/m electric fields, opacity measurements approaching stellar interior conditions, characteristics of a radiating shock propagating at 330 km/s, and determination of plasma conditions in imploded capsule cores at 150 Mbar pressures. These applications provide insight into fundamental properties of nature in addition to their importance for addressing challenging pulsed power science problems. © 2010 American Institute of Physics. doi:10.1063/1.3309722