EFFECTS OF RADIATION PRESSURE ON A LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA

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Abstract
Four specific experimentally observed phenomena associated with a laser‐produced carbon plasma in a vacuum are described. They are superheating of the target surface, a sharply defined and slightly indented leading boundary of the expanding plume, a density precursor in the expanding plume, and the merging of the electron and ion temperatures at very high laser fluxes. These observations are explained in terms of the effects of the laser beam's radiation pressure on the otherwise freely expanding plasma. The radiation pressure for a typical 10‐J Q‐switched ruby laser pulse with a half width of 65 nsec is equivalent to a maximum of 10 atm of pressure when focused to a 1‐mm‐diam spot.