X-ray laser interferometry: A new tool for AGEX

Collisionally pumped soft x-ray lasers now operate over a wavelength range extending from 4--40 nm. With the recent advances in the development of multilayer mirrors and beamsplitters in the soft x-ray regime, we can utilize the unique properties of x-ray lasers to study large, rapidly evolving laser-driven plasmas with high electron densities. By employing a shorter wavelength x-ray laser, as compared to using conventional optical laser as the probe source, we can access a much higher density regime while reducing refractive effects which limit the spatial resolution and data interpretation. Using a neon-like yttrium x-ray laser which operates at a wavelength of 15.5 mn, we have performed a series of soft x-ray laser interferometry experiments, operated in the skewed Mach-Zehnder configuration, to characterize plasmas relevant to both weapons and inertial confinement fusion. The two-dimensional density profiles obtained from the interferograms allow us to validate and benchmark our numerical models used to study the physics in the high-energy density regime, relevant to both weapons and inertial confinement fusion