Line emission in AI XI as an optical diagnostic in laser-heated plasmas

Abstract

An extension of an earlier model of a laser‐heated aluminum plasma is made to describe line emission in these plasmas from the lithiumlike Al XI ion. The model includes a satellite to the He_α‐like line and the six most prominent lines originating from single excitations in Al XI. The core of the plasma is heated directly and cooled by thermal conduction losses to an equal volume of outer plasma, by a free hydrodynamic expansion, and by radiative losses principally from the hydrogen, heliumlike, and lithiumlike ionization stages. A study is made of the emission from plasmas initially at ion densities that, for a fully ionized plasma, would have critical electron densities for absorption of CO₂, neodymium, and frequency‐tripled neodymium laser radiation. Curves showing the integrated emission from different lines in Al XI are presented and correlated to the different plasma densities, peak average temperatures, and conduction loss rates.