Effects of ion dynamics and opacity on Stark-broadened argon line profiles

We examine the combined effects of ion dynamics and opacity on line profiles used in the analysis of hot dense plasmas. Specifically, we have calculated Stark-broadened line profiles for resonance and satellite lines of highly stripped Ar ions both in the static ion approximation and including the effects of ion dynamics. Using the results of a kinetics computer code combined with an escape factor approximation to account for the effects of radiative transfer, we have calculated the relative intensities of these lines as well as the effects of opacity on their profiles. The resulting theoretical spectrum is used in the analysis of data obtained from a series of experiments performed at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in which plastic microballoons filled with D2 and doped with Ar were imploded using the Omega laser system. Typical core conditions at stagnation were ne=1x1024 cm-3, kT=900 eV. Varying the relative concentration of Ar in D2 provides an opportunity to study the combined and individual effects of ion motion and opacity on Stark-broadened line profiles. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society