Observation and numerical analysis of plasma parameters in a capillary discharge-produced plasma channel waveguide

We observed the parameters of the discharge-produced plasma in cylindrical capillary. Plasma parameters of the waveguide were investigated by use of both a Normarski laser interferometer and a hydrogen plasma line spectrum. A space-averaged maximum temperature of 3.3 eV with electron densities of the order of 1017 cm-3 was observed at a discharge time of 150 ns and a maximum discharge current of 200 A. One-dimensional dissipative magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code was used to analyze the discharge dynamics in the gas-filled capillary discharge waveguide for high-intensity laser pulses. Simulations were performed for the conditions of the experiment. We compared the temporal behavior of the electron temperature and the radial electron density profiles, measured in the experiment with the results of the numerical simulations. They occurred to be in a good agreement. An ultrashort, intense laser pulse was guided by use of this plasma channel.