Symmetric Laser Compression of Argon-Filled Glass Shells to Densities of 4-6 g/cm3

Abstract

Argon-filled plastic-coated glass shells were imploded with the six-beam ZETA laser system with short (∼50-psec) pulses of energy ∼ 100 J. Densities in the range 4-6 g/${\mathrm{cm}}^3$ [$N_e=(1.0-0.5)\mathrm{}\times {10}^{24}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{-3\mathrm{}}$] temperatures ∼ 1 keV were deduced from the Stark profiles of various ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{16+}$, ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{17+}$ x-ray lines. These densities are achieved because of the shell thickness and radiational cooling of the high-$Z$ fill gas and show that symmetric illumination can lead to high-volume convergence (> 1000).