Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-2dmjx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-08T00:07:30.530Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Influence of hot electrons on the spectra of iron plasma irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses with 1021 W/cm2 intensities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2017

A. Stafford*
Affiliation:
Physics Department, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
A.S. Safronova
Affiliation:
Physics Department, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
A.Ya. Faenov
Affiliation:
Institute for Academic Initiatives, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 125412, Russia
T.A. Pikuz
Affiliation:
Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 125412, Russia PPC and Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-087, Japan
R. Kodama
Affiliation:
Institute for Academic Initiatives, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan PPC and Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-087, Japan
V.L. Kantsyrev
Affiliation:
Physics Department, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
I. Shrestha
Affiliation:
Physics Department, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
V.V. Shlyaptseva
Affiliation:
Physics Department, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: A. Stafford, Department of Physics, University of Nevada, (0220) 1664 N. Virginia St. Reno, NV 89557, USA. E-mail: austins@unr.edu

Abstract

The use of laboratory experiments as plasma creating sources is a valuable tool for understanding astrophysical observations. Recently plasma created through irradiation by lasers with relativistic intensities has been used to study effects of hot electrons and X-ray pumping on X-ray formation of multiply charged ions spectra. This paper discusses the formation of K-shell Fe spectra recorded from a plasma irradiated by 35 fs pulses with intensities of 1021 W/cm2. Modeling of the spectra suggests three different regions of plasma radiation including a cold ~10 eV region, a mild ~700 eV region, and a hot ~3500 eV region. The influence of hot electrons and X-ray pumping is discussed and a comparison with K-shell Fe spectra from a 1 MA X-pinch experiment is included to highlight the differences due to the shorter time frame of the laser–plasma interaction experiment.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 
Figure 0

Fig. 1. Theoretical modeling matched to experimental data from laser experiments performed at JKAREN facility (Colgan et al., 2016). All models include 0.1% hot electrons described with a Gaussian distribution at 10 keV with a 50 eV half width at half max (HWHM). (a) 3500 eV and 8 × 1022 cm−3 modeling matches Heα and Lyα transitions. (b) 700 eV and 1.8 × 1024 cm−3 modeling matches B-like and C-like structures between 1.88 and 1.9 Å. (c) Modeling for cold Kα and Kβ transitions suggest 10 eV electron temperatures with a 8 × 1022 cm−3 electron density.

Figure 1

Fig. 2. Combination of theoretical models shown in Figure 1 matched to the experimental spectrum. The modeling matches most structure between 1.85 and 1.95 Å.

Figure 2

Fig. 3. Theoretical modeling of three different hot electron concentrations, (a) 10%, (b) 25%, and (c) 40%, with a bulk Te = 300 eV and Ne = 1.8 × 1024 cm−3. The modeling shows the ionization balance does not fit the experimental spectrum which confirms the need for multiple regions shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3

Fig. 4. Theoretical modeling showing the influence of different ionizations on the K-shell Fe experimental spectrum from a stainless steel X-pinch experiment performed on the Zebra generator at 1 MA. Modeling was done with Te = 170 eV and Ne = 1 × 1020 cm−3 and three different hot electron concentrations (1, 2.5, and 4%). The experimental spectrum shows evidence of He-like to F-like ions.

Figure 4

Fig. 5. Theoretical modeling for Stainless Steel X-pinch spectra estimating the plasma parameters of the highest Te (1700 eV, 1 × 1020 cm−3) and lowest Te (170 eV, 1 × 1020 cm−3) regions.