Creating High-Energy-Density Conditions

Abstract

This chapter discusses a sequence of physical mechanisms and practical issues associated with the production of high-energy-conditions, primarily using lasers. After a brief introduction to the lasers themselves, the first topic is the effect of the laser beams on the plasma and of the plasma on the laser beams. This includes absorption, refraction, reflection, laser scattering, and laser–plasma instabilities . The next topic is the transfer of energy by electron heat conduction, which enables a discussion of the laser heating of the plasma, of the consequent ablation of dense matter, and of the eventual resulting, rocket-like acceleration of the target . This is followed by a consideration of the dynamics of mid-Z and high-Z targets, in which radiation plays a larger role, and specifically of the use of gold targets as an X-ray source. The final topic is hohlraums, including discussions of the soft-X-ray energy fluxes they generate, the ablation of low-Z matter by such X-rays, and the problems that experiments using hohlraums encounter.