Simulations of laser-produced cylindrical carbon plasmas

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Abstract
The results of hydrodynamics and atomic kinetic simulations of laser-irradiated carbon fibers are presented. The hydrodynamics are used to compare the results of the critical density surface as a function of time for different formulations of the equation of state (EOS). In particular two local-thermodynamic-equilibrium EOS cases and one non-local-thermodynamic-equilibrium EOS are compared. Results are then compared to data from a carbon-fiber experiment performed by Burgess et al. at the Australian National University. Next the atomic kinetics is coupled to the hydrodynamics to produce a detailed accounting of the level populations of the carbon ions as the fiber is heated, expanded, and cooled. The study of the formation of the inversion in the hydrogenic ion stage is presented. These calculations are used to draw comparisons with laboratory experiments.