Aachen PK 2003 – scientific programme
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P: Plasmaphysik
P 9: Plasma Physics
P 9.6: Talk
Tuesday, March 18, 2003, 17:10–17:30, FO4
Exploring 2-omega laser propagation through underdense gas targets — •Gary Slark1, Kevin Oades1, Mark Stevenson1, Larry Suter2, Michael Miller2, Jacob Grun3, John Davis4, and Robert Kauffman2 — 1Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, Reading RG7 4PR, UK — 2Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA — 3Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA — 4Alme Associates, Alexandria, VA 22303, USA
We report on an extensive series of experiments using 2-omega light on a variety of gaseous targets at the HELEN laser facility at AWE. The aims of the experiments were to investigate laser-plasma interactions for 2-omega light, and to test schemes for efficiently producing multi-keV x-rays. The experiments were diagnosed by a range of optical and x-ray instruments including streaked SRS and SBS spectrometers, hard x-ray and Dante measurements.
The targets used have been filled with neopentane, carbon dioxide, krypton and gas mixtures. these targets produce very different degrees of backscatter, reaching a minimum in the case of krypton, clearly demonstrating that plasma composition can also be used to minimise backscatter losses. These data also indicate that it is possible to produce or quench hot electron production by varying the plasma composition, even near quarter critical density.