Profile modification by the ponderomotive force in spherical targets

Experiments have been performed by LLL which indicate a definite density profile steepening. One possible mechanism for this effect is the ponderomotive force. LASNEX has been modified to include the light momentum deposition in the form rho dv/dt = -nabla P - nabla(radical epsilon + radical 1/epsilon) I/2c. Results will be presented from numerical simulations on spherical glass targets at laser intensities from 1014 to 1016 watts/cm2. Emphasis is placed on the nature of the density profile near the critical region as a function of laser intensity and plasma conditions. The existence of this sharp step, whose scale length is of the order of a micrometer may imply a local reduction in the thermal conductivity