Evolution of the Electron Distribution Function in the Presence of Inverse Bremsstrahlung Heating and Collisional Ionization
A. L. Milder, Hai Le, M. Sherlock, P. Franke, J. Katz, S. T. Ivancic, Jessica Shaw, J. P. Palastro, Aaron Hansen, I. A. Begishev, W. Rozmus, D. H. Froula
Abstract
The picosecond evolution of non-Maxwellian electron distribution functions was measured in a laser-produced plasma using collective electron plasma wave Thomson scattering. During the laser heating, the distribution was measured to be approximately super-Gaussian due to inverse bremsstrahlung heating. After the heating laser turned off, collisional ionization caused further modification to the distribution function while increasing electron density and decreasing temperature. Electron distribution functions were determined using Vlasov-Fokker-Planck simulations including atomic kinetics.
Topics & Concepts
BremsstrahlungAtomic physicsDistribution functionPlasmaElectronIonizationPhysicsThomson scatteringElectron temperatureLaserInverseIonNuclear physicsOpticsQuantum mechanicsMathematicsGeometryLaser-induced spectroscopy and plasmaLaser-Plasma Interactions and DiagnosticsAtomic and Molecular Physics