Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:25:08.671Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Spherically symmetric high-velocity plasma expansions into background gases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2009

Tai-Ho Tan
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
Joseph E. Borovsky
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545

Abstract

Spherically symmetric plasmas with high expansion velocities have been produced by irradiating targets with eight beams from the Helios CO2 laser in the presence of gases at various pressures. Attention was given to the properties of the target-emitted ions in order to obtain information about the ion acceleration mechanisms in plasma expansions. Photo-ionization of the ambient gases by the soft X-ray emission from the laser-irradiated targets produced background plasmas, permitting plasma counterstreaming experiments to be performed in spherical geometry. Successful laser-target coupling in the presence of background gases is obtained, modification of the ion acceleration in accordance with isothermal-expansion models is observed, and an absence of collective coupling between collisionless counterstreaming plasmas is found.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Begay, F. & Forslund, D. W. 1982 Phys. Fluids, 25, 1675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benjamin, R., McCall, G. H. & Ehler, A. W. 1979 Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 890.Google Scholar
Borovsky, J. E., Pongratz, M. B., Roussel-Dupre, R. A. & Tan, T.-H. 1984 Astrophys. J. 280, 802.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlson, R. L., Carpenter, J. P., Casperson, D. E., Gibson, R. B., Godwin, R. P., Haglund, R. F., Hanlon, J. A., Jolly, E. L. & Stratton, T. F. 1981 IEEE J. Quantum Electron. QE-17, 1662.Google Scholar
Crow, J. E., Auer, P. L. & Allen, J. E. 1975 J. Plasma Phys. 14, 65.Google Scholar
Forslund, D. & Brackbill, J. 1982 Phys. Rev. Lett. 48, 1614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Northcliffe, L. C. & Schilling, R. F. 1970 Nuclear Data Tables, A 7, 233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Samir, U., Wright, K. H. & Stone, N. H. 1983 Rev. Geophys. Space Sci. 21, 1631.Google Scholar
Tan, T.-H., Giovanielli, D., McCall, G. H. & Williams, A. H. 1977 Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 22, 1120.Google Scholar
Tan, T.-H., McCall, G. H. & Williams, A. H. 1984 Phys. Fluids, 27, 296.Google Scholar
Tan, T.-H., Williams, A. H., Borovsky, J. E. & Pongratz, M. B. 1983 Los Alamos National Laboratory Report, LA-9748-MS.Google Scholar