Laser heating of solid matter by light-pressure-driven shocks at ultrarelativistic intensities.
The heating of solid targets irradiated by 5 x 10(20) W cm(-2), 0.8 ps, 1.05 microm wavelength laser light is studied by x-ray spectroscopy of the K-shell emission from thin layers of Ni, Mo, and V. A surface layer is heated to approximately 5 keV with an axial temperature gradient of 0.6 microm scale length. Images of Ni Ly(alpha) show the hot region has <or=25 microm diameter. These data are consistent with collisional particle-in-cell simulations using preformed plasma density profiles from hydrodynamic modeling which show that the >100 G bar light pressure compresses the preformed plasma and drives a shock into the solid, heating a thin layer.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
K U
KU
Akli
S B
SB
Hansen
A J
AJ
Kemp
R R
RR
Freeman
F N
FN
Beg
D C
DC
Clark
S D
SD
Chen
D
D
Hey
S P
SP
Hatchett
K
K
Highbarger
E
E
Giraldez
J S
JS
Green
G
G
Gregori
K L
KL
Lancaster
T
T
Ma
A J
AJ
MacKinnon
P
P
Norreys
N
N
Patel
J
J
Pasley
C
C
Shearer
R B
RB
Stephens
C
C
Stoeckl
M
M
Storm
W
W
Theobald
L D
LD
Van Woerkom
R
R
Weber
M H
MH
Key