Transverse rarefaction of a layer behind the front of a longitudinal wave of nonlinear thermal conductivity and features of plasma formation inside the target cavity

A solution of the two-dimensional problem is presented for a transverse rarefaction wave of a plane layer behind a wavefront of nonlinear thermal conductivity produced by an instantaneous cylindrical energy source with its axis normal to the layer surface. The matter can rarefy through the free surfaces of the layer or through holes in the boundary walls, which are coaxial with the energy source axis. Analytic solutions are obtained describing the formation of the rear boundary in the heated zone due to transverse matter rarefaction. The energy fraction transferred to the energy of hydrodynamic motion is also determined. Models of plasma formation inside the inner target cavity under the action of pulsed energy sources are considered as applications of the approach suggested. Requirements on the source and target parameters are formulated for efficient matter heating with minimum energy losses caused by hydrodynamic rarefaction of the matter. Translated from Preprint No. 14 of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (1998).