title: Laser-generated spark morphology and temperature records from emission and Rayleigh scattering studies.
abstract: Using both Rayleigh scattering and time-resolved emission spectroscopy, we have recorded the spatial and temporal evolution of laser-generated sparks in argon from changes during the first ten of nano-seconds to complete dissipation, which occurs in a time span of approximately 5 ms. Maps of either emission intensity or argon density spanning the entire region affected by the energy deposited by the laser show the dissipation of the spark in detail. Immediately after ignition, the argon plasma occupies an ellipsoidal volume of roughly 3-mm vertical (axial) length. After approximately 20-40 micros, the spark region has transformed into a toroidal shape in a plane perpendicular to the vertical axis, with a radius of approximately 1.5 mm. The torus rises slowly up and expands noticeably in the radial direction. A record of peak temperatures of the spark ranging from approximately 10,000 K at 60-micros delay time to approximately 450 K at 4-ms delay time indicate cooling rates from approximately 100 to 1 K/micros at these times.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459-0155, USA.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Longenecker
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hüwel
authors.forename: Lou
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cadwell
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nassif