Early-time evolution of a radiative shock

We have performed high-energy-density physics experiments with large radiative fluxes, relevant to radiative shocks in our universe. These experiments were performed at the Omega Laser facility and used a laser irradiance of 7.2 × 10¹⁴ W cm^?2 to launch a Be disk into low-density Xe gas. The radiative shocks were observed early in time as the dense shocked Xe layer began to form. The average shock position indicates that the shock is moving over 130 km s^?1. Data are compared to simulation output from the CRASH code, which was developed at the Center for Radiative Shock Hydrodynamics at the University of Michigan.     

A study of ambient upstream material properties using perpendicular laser driven radiative blast waves in atomic cluster gases

We report on the characterisation of the upstream medium ahead of a radiative cylindrical blast wave launched in an argon cluster gas with a 1 J, 1 ps, 1054 nm Nd:Glass laser system. By launching two perpendicular blast waves and introducing a time delay between the heating beams it is possible to determine the extent of the cluster medium by observing the high energy absorption region associated with clusters, as apposed to the low energy deposition in monatomic gas. It was found that argon ions launched from the initial laser driven cluster ionisation created a ballistic ion wave which sweeps out ahead of the hydrodynamic blast wave at an initial velocity of 1000 kms⁻¹. This ballistic wave disassembles the clusters ahead of the blast wave into a neutral gas medium before the arrival of a radiative precursor. This observation gives us confidence that the dynamics of a radiative blast wave in cluster based experiments is determined primarily by the properties of an upstream atomic gas, and is not significantly influenced by cluster affects on energy transport or other material properties.     

Bow shocks formed by plasma collisions in laser irradiated semi-cylindrical cavities

The formation of shocks in plasmas created by short pulse laser irradiation (λ = 800 nm, I ≈ 1 × 10¹² W cm^?2) of semi-cylindrical cavities of different materials was studied combining visible and soft X-ray laser interferometry with simulations. The plasma rapidly converges near the axis to form a dense bright plasma focus. Later in time a long lasting bow shock is observed to develop outside the cavity, that is shown to arise from the collision of plasmas originating from within the cavity and the surrounding flat walls of the target. The shock is sustained for tens of nanoseconds by the continuous arrival of plasma ablated from the target walls. The plasmas created from the heavier target materials evolve more slowly, resulting in increased shock lifetimes.     

Simulations of laser experiments of radiative and non-radiative shocks

The Center for Radiative Shock Hydrodynamics (CRASH) at the University of Michigan was established to study the properties of radiative shocks using both numerical simulation and shock-tube experiments on the Omega Laser at the University of Rochester. The laser accelerates a thin Be disk, which acts like a piston, driving a shock with an initial propagation velocity of 200 km/s into a tube filled with Xe. Analytic estimates indicate that a shock propagating with a velocity greater than about 60 km/s through Xe under these conditions should be strongly radiative. This paper discusses numerical simulations of a proposed modification to this experiment that produces a non-radiative shock. Comparison of the radiative and non-radiative cases provides an excellent opportunity for assessing the effects of radiation on shock structure and flow morphology. For the non-radiative case, the initial shock speed is reduced to 20 km/s by increasing the thickness of the Be disk and by decreasing the energy of the laser. Two-dimensional simulations of targets with cylindrical shock tubes and three-dimensional simulations of more complex targets with elliptical shock tubes are described. In addition, the effect of the shock speed on the cross-sectional area of the tube is discussed.     

Backlighter development at the National Ignition Facility (NIF): Zinc to zirconium

K-shell X-ray emission from laser-irradiated planar Zn, Ge, Br, and Zr foils was measured at the National Ignition Facility for laser irradiances in the range of 0.6–9.5 × 10¹⁵ W/cm². The incident laser power had a pre-pulse to enhance the laser-to-X-ray conversion efficiency (CE) of a 2–5 ns constant-intensity pulse used as the main laser drive. The measured CE into the 8–16 keV energy band ranged from 0.43% to 2%, while the measured CE into the He-like resonance 1s2–1s2p(1P) and intercombination 1s2–1s2p(3P) transitions, as well as from their 1s2(2s,2p)l–1s2p(2s,2p)l satellite transitions for l = 1, 2, 3, corresponding to the Li-, Be-, and B-like resonances, respectively, ranged from 0.3% to 1.5%. Absolute and relative CE measurements are consistent with X-ray energy scaling of (hν)^?3 to (hν)^?5, where hν is the X-ray energy. The temporal evolution of the broadband X-ray power was similar to the main laser drive for ablation plasmas having a critical density surface.     

Simulating radiative shocks with the CRASH laser package

We present the latest improvements in the Center for Radiative Shock Hydrodynamics (CRASH) code, a parallel block-adaptive-mesh Eulerian code for simulating high-energy-density plasmas. The implementation can solve for radiation models with either a gray or a multigroup method in the flux-limited-diffusion approximation. The electrons and ions are allowed to be out of temperature equilibrium and flux-limited electron thermal heat conduction is included. We have recently implemented a CRASH laser package with 3-D ray tracing, resulting in improved energy deposition evaluation. New, more accurate opacity models are available which significantly improve radiation transport in materials like xenon. In addition, the HYPRE preconditioner has been added to improve the radiation implicit solver. With this updated version of the CRASH code we study radiative shock tube problems. In our set-up, a 1 ns, 3.8 kJ laser pulse irradiates a 20 micron beryllium disk, driving a shock into a xenon-filled plastic tube. The electrons emit radiation in the shocked xenon. This radiation preheats the unshocked xenon. Photons traveling ahead of the shock will also interact with the plastic tube, heat it, and in turn this can drive another shock off the wall into the xenon.     

Application of digital phase-shift holographic interferometry to weak shock waves propagating at Mach 1.007

Digital phase-shift holographic interferometry was applied to visualize weak shock waves and related phenomena quantitatively. This method of interferometry is an improved version of double-exposure holographic interferometry using digital image processing and a phase shift method. The obtained interferograms were analyzed using the Carré method. To evaluate the applicability of the interferometry to quantitatively visualize the phenomena, density profiles behind weak spherical shock waves generated with 500 μg of silver azide were examined. The results of the numerical analysis performed with the hydrocode AUTODYN were compared with those of the experiment. The Mach number of visualized shock waves was estimated to be 1.007 ± 0.001 at the pressure transducer near the test section. At the shock fronts, the density difference between the experimental and numerical results was within 0.3%.     

Spectroscopic observations of Fermi-degenerate aluminum compressed and heated to four times solid density and 20 eV

Shock waves generated by temporally shaped laser ablation compressed and heated Al to ρ = 11 ± 5 g/cm³ and 20 ± 2 eV. The inferred density and temperature demonstrate that highly compressed, Fermi-degenerate plasma can be created by tuning the temporal pulse shape of the laser drive intensity. The density and temperature of these plastic-tamped Al plasmas in the warm dense matter regime were diagnosed using the Stark-broadened, Al 1s–2p absorption spectral line shapes. These observations represent the forefront of opacity measurements for warm dense matter and are important for high energy density physics and inertial confinement fusion.     

Isochoric heating of reduced mass targets by ultra-intense laser produced relativistic electrons

We present measurements of the chlorine K-alpha emission from reduced mass targets, irradiated with ultra-high intensity laser pulses. Chlorinated plastic targets with diameters down to 50 μm and mass of a few 10^?8 g were irradiated with up to 7 J of laser energy focused to intensities of several 10¹⁹ W/cm². The conversion of laser energy to K-alpha radiation is measured, and high-resolution spectra that allow observation of line shifts are observed, indicating isochoric heating of the target up to 18 eV. A zero-dimensional 2-temperature equilibration model, combined with electron impact K-shell ionization and post processed spectra from collisional radiative calculations reproduces the observed K-alpha yields and line shifts, and shows the importance of target expansion due to the hot electron pressure.     

Production of periodically modulated laser-driven blast waves in a clustering gas

To study hydrodynamic behavior on thin shell high Mach number blast waves, experiments have been performed in which spatially tailored shock waves have been launched in a gas of clusters using an intense 35 fs laser pulse. The target medium was first modified by destroying clusters in specific locations using a spatially modulated laser focus. Under subsequent intense laser irradiation, the efficient absorption properties of the remaining clustered regions compared to those regions with no clusters led to a pattern of hot and cold plasma resulting in a cylindrical blast wave with a periodic modulation imprinted on the shock front. This technique may provide a method for studying thin shell instabilities in strongly radiative blast waves.     

Studying astrophysical collisionless shocks with counterstreaming plasmas from high power lasers

Collisions of high Mach number flows occur frequently in astrophysics, and the resulting shock waves are responsible for the properties of many astrophysical phenomena, such as supernova remnants, Gamma Ray Bursts and jets from Active Galactic Nuclei. Because of the low density of astrophysical plasmas, the mean free path due to Coulomb collisions is typically very large. Therefore, most shock waves in astrophysics are “collisionless”, since they form due to plasma instabilities and self-generated magnetic fields. Laboratory experiments at the laser facilities can achieve the conditions necessary for the formation of collisionless shocks, and will provide a unique avenue for studying the nonlinear physics of collisionless shock waves. We are performing a series of experiments at the Omega and Omega-EP lasers, in Rochester, NY, with the goal of generating collisionless shock conditions by the collision of two high-speed plasma flows resulting from laser ablation of solid targets using ∼10¹⁶ W/cm² laser irradiation. The experiments will aim to answer several questions of relevance to collisionless shock physics: the importance of the electromagnetic filamentation (Weibel) instabilities in shock formation, the self-generation of magnetic fields in shocks, the influence of external magnetic fields on shock formation, and the signatures of particle acceleration in shocks. Our first experiments using Thomson scattering diagnostics studied the plasma state from a single foil and from double foils whose flows collide “head-on”. Our data showed that the flow velocity and electron density were 10⁸ cm/s and 10¹⁹ cm⁻³, respectively, where the Coulomb mean free path is much larger than the size of the interaction region. Simulations of our experimental conditions show that weak Weibel mediated current filamentation and magnetic field generation were likely starting to occur. This paper presents the results from these first Omega experiments.     

Plasma emission spectroscopy of solids irradiated by intense XUV pulses from a free electron laser

The FLASH XUV-free electron laser has been used to irradiate solid samples at intensities of the order 10¹⁶ W cm^?2 at a wavelength of 13.5 nm. The subsequent time integrated XUV emission was observed with a grating spectrometer. The electron temperature inferred from plasma line ratios was in the range 5–8 eV with electron density in the range 10²¹–10²² cm^?3. These results are consistent with the saturation of absorption through bleaching of the L-edge by intense photo-absorption reported in an earlier publication.     

Precursor ionization ahead of strong shock waves in argon

The mechanism of precursor ionization ahead of strong shock waves has been studied in a low density shock tube. The experimental results are illustrated with Arrhenius plots with kink points dividing them into two parts with apparent activation energy ratio 1:2, namely with the values 7.7 eV and 15.3 eV, and varying with first and third power of the density respectively. A model is proposed to interpret the facts where the process taking place in the precursor region, is a two step photo ionization accompanied with the drift flow effect of the gas relative to the shock wave or the ionization recombination effect according to whether the shock speed and initial density are low enough. The product of the A-A collision excitation cross section coefficientS ^* multiplied by the radiation cross sectionQ ^* of ArgonS ^*×Q ^*=1×10⁻³⁶ (cm⁴eV⁻¹) and the three body recombination coefficient of Argon at room temperaturek _ra =1×10⁻²⁴ (cm⁻⁶s⁻¹). The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Atomic physics of relativistic high contrast laser-produced plasmas in experiments on Leopard laser facility at UNR

The results of the recent experiments focused on study of x-ray radiation from multicharged plasmas irradiated by relativistic (I > 10¹⁹ W/cm²) sub-ps laser pulses on Leopard laser facility at NTF/UNR are presented. These shots were done under different experimental conditions related to laser pulse and contrast. In particular, the duration of the laser pulse was 350 fs or 0.8 ns and the contrast was varied from high (10^?7) to moderate (10^?5). The thin laser targets (from 4 to 750 μm) made of a broad range of materials (from Teflon to iron and molybden to tungsten and gold) were utilized. Using the x-ray diagnostics including the high-precision spectrometer with resolution R ～ 3000 and a survey spectrometer, we have observed unique spectral features that are illustrated in this paper. Specifically, the observed L-shell spectra for Fe targets subject to high intensity lasers (～10¹⁹ W/cm²) indicate electron beams, while at lower intensities (～10¹⁶ W/cm²) or for Cu targets there is much less evidence for an electron beam. In addition, K-shell Mg features with dielectronic satellites from high-Rydberg states, and the new K-shell F features with dielectronic satellites including exotic transitions from hollow ions are highlighted.     

A review of new wire arrays with open and closed magnetic configurations at the 1.6 MA Zebra generator for radiative properties and opacity effects

The studies emphasize investigation of plasma formation, implosion, and radiation features as a function of two load configurations: compact multi-planar and cylindrical wire arrays. Experiments with different Z-pinch loads were performed on 1.6 MA, 100 ns, Zebra generator at University of Nevada, Reno. The multi-planar wire arrays (PWAs) were studied in open and closed configurations with Al, Cu, brass, Mo and W wires. In the open magnetic configurations (single, double, triple PWAs) magnetic fields are present inside the arrays from the beginning of discharge, while in closed configurations (prism-like PWA) the global magnetic field is excluded inside before plasma flow occurs. The new prism-like PWA allows high flexibility in control of implosion dynamics and precursor formation. The spectral modeling, magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) and wire ablation dynamic model (WADM) codes were used to describe the plasma evolution and plasma parameters. Experimentally observed electron temperature and density in multiple bright spots reached 1.4 keV and 5 × 10²¹ cm^?3, respectively. Two types of bright spots were observed. With peak currents up to 1.3 MA opacity effects became more pronounced and led to a limiting of the X-ray yields from compact cylindrical arrays. Despite different magnetic energy to plasma coupling mechanisms early in the implosion a comparison of compact double PWA and cylindrical WA results indicates that during the stagnation stage the same plasma heating mechanism may occur. The double PWA was found to be the best radiator tested at University scale 1 MA generator. It is characterized by a combination of larger yield and power, mm-scale size, and provides the possibility of radiation pulse shaping. Further, the newer configuration, the double PWA with skewed wires, was tested and showed the possibility of a more effective X-ray generation.     

Simulating radiative shocks in nozzle shock tubes

We use the recently developed Center for Radiative Shock Hydrodynamics (CRASH) code to numerically simulate laser-driven radiative shock experiments. These shocks are launched by an ablated beryllium disk and are driven down xenon-filled plastic tubes. The simulations are initialized by the two-dimensional version of the Lagrangian Hyades code which is used to evaluate the laser energy deposition during the first 1.1 ns. Later times are calculated with the CRASH code. CRASH solves for the multi-material hydrodynamics with separate electron and ion temperatures on an Eulerian block-adaptive-mesh and includes a multi-group flux-limited radiation diffusion and electron thermal heat conduction. The goal of the present paper is to demonstrate the capability to simulate radiative shocks of essentially three-dimensional experimental configurations, such as circular and elliptical nozzles. We show that the compound shock structure of the primary and wall shock is captured and verify that the shock properties are consistent with order-of-magnitude estimates. The synthetic radiographs produced can be used for comparison with future nozzle experiments at high-energy-density laser facilities.     

Characterization of shock accelerometers using Davies bar and laser interferometer

In this paper, we propose a novel method for evaluating the frequency response of shock accelerometers using Davies bar and interferometry. The method adopts elastic wave pulses propagating in a thin circular bar for the generation of high accelerations. The accelerometer to be examined is attached to one end of the bar and experiences high accelerations of the order of 10³∼10⁵ m/s². A laser interferometer system is newly designed for the absolute measurement of the bar end motion. It can measure the motion of a diffuse surface specimen at a speed of 10⁻³ ∼10⁰ m/s. Uncertainty of the velocity measurement is estimated to be±6×10⁻⁴ m/s, proving a high potential for use in the primary calibration of shock accelerometers. Frequency characteristics of the accelerometer are determined by comparing the accelerometer's output with velocity data of the interferometry in the frequency domain. Two piezoelectric-type accelerometers are tested in the experiment, and their frequency characteristics are obtained over a wide frequency range up to several ten kilohertz. It is also shown that the results obtained using strain gages are consistent with those by this new method. Paper was presented at the 1992 SEM Spring Conference on Experimental Mechanics held in Las Vegas, NV on June 8–11.     

Kinetic simulations of the heating of solid density plasma by femtosecond laser pulses

Experiments have been performed in which fs-timescale laser pulses, focused to an intensity ～10¹⁶ W cm^?2, are able to directly create and interact with solid density plasma (1). We have performed one-dimensional simulations of the experiments with a kinetic model which solves Maxwell's equations coupled to the Fokker–Planck equation enabling us to self-consistently model the non-local heat flow and absorption process. We find that the heat-flux is magnetized by the laser field and is inhibited relative to the Spitzer value.     

Accelerating piston action and plasma heating in high-energy density laser plasma interactions

In the field of high-energy density physics (HEDP), lasers in both the nanosecond and picosecond regimes can drive conditions in the laboratory relevant to a broad range of astrophysical phenomena, including gamma-ray burst afterglows and supernova remnants. In the short-pulse regime, the strong light pressure (>Gbar) associated ultraintense lasers of intensity I > 10¹⁸ W/cm² plays a central role in many HEDP applications. Yet, the behavior of this nonlinear pressure mechanism is not well-understood at late time in the laser–plasma interaction. In this paper, a more realistic treatment of the laser pressure ‘hole boring’ process is developed through analytical modeling and particle-in-cell simulations. A simple Liouville code capturing the phase space evolution of ponderomotively-driven ions is employed to distill effects related to plasma heating and ion bulk acceleration. Taking into account these effects, our results show that the evolution of the laser-target system encompasses ponderomotive expansion, equipartition, and quasi-isothermal expansion epochs. These results have implications for light piston-driven ion acceleration scenarios, and astrophysical applications where the efficiencies of converting incident Poynting flux into bulk plasma flow and plasma heat are key unknown parameters.     

Measurements of emission spectra from hot,dense germanium plasma in short pulse laser experiments

Heating of thin foil targets by an high power laser at intensities of 10¹⁷–10¹⁹ W/cm² has been studied as a method for producing high temperature, high density samples to investigate X-ray opacity and equation of state. The targets were plastic (parylene-N) foils with a microdot made of a mixture of germanium and titanium buried at depth of 1.5 μm. The L-shell spectra from the germanium and the K-shell spectra from the titanium were taken using crystal spectrometers recording onto film and an ultra fast X-ray streak camera coupled to a conical focussing crystal with a time resolution of 1 ps. The conditions in the microdot were inferred by comparing the measured spectra to synthetic spectra produced by the time-dependent collisional–radiative (CR) models FLY and FLYCHK. The data were also compared to simulated spectra from a number of opacity codes assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). Temperature and density gradients were taken into account in the comparisons. The sample conditions were inferred from the CR modelling using FLYCHK to be 800 ± 100 eV and 1.5 ± 0.5 g/cc. The best fit to the LTE models was at a temperature 20% lower than with the CR model. Though the sample departs from LTE significantly useful spectral comparisons can still be made. The results and comparisons are discussed along with improvements to the experimental technique to achieve conditions closer to LTE.