Self-similar hydrodynamic flow in the laser light to x-ray conversion layer of a laser-heated solid

Intense short-wavelength laser light may be converted into thermal soft x rays in the dense plasma formed by irradiation of a solid high-Z material. Under certain conditions, the hydrodynamic flow in the conversion layer is self-similar, and profiles of the hydrodynamic variables may be readily calculated by solving the appropriate hydrodynamic equations. It is found that the structure of the conversion layer depends on the type of equilibrium that determines the atomic physics processes of radiation emission. Varying the conditions between the limits of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and coronal equilibrium (CE) shows, that in the latter case, the radiation comes mainly from a thin layer in the dense part of the conversion layer. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics