Physics of the coronal plasma in laser fusion targets

This course deals with the physics of the coronal region in laser fusion targets. The corona consists of hot plasma which has been evaporated from the initally solid target during laser heating. It is in the corona that the laser light is absorbed by the target, and the resulting thermal energy is conducted toward cold high-density regions, where ablation occurs. The topics to be discussed are theoretical mechanisms for laser light absorption and reflection, hot electron production, and the physics of heat conduction in laser-produced plasmas. (Auth.)