title: Experimental characterization of picosecond laser interaction with solid targets.
abstract: We have characterized the plasma produced by a picosecond laser pulse using x-ray spectroscopy. High-resolution high-sensitivity spectra of K -shell emission from a Ti plasma have been obtained, showing a strong contribution from multiply ionized ions. Hydrodynamic and collisional-radiative codes are used to extract the plasma temperature and density from these measurements. We show that our measurements can provide benchmarks for particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of preplasma conditions in ultraintense laser-matter interactions.
authors.affiliation: Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Gizzi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Labate
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neely
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Notley
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Rajeev
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gregori