Propagation of the Superthermal Corona from CO2-Laser-Irradiated Microtargets

The propagation of the superthermal plasma from microdisk targets irradiated with single, nanosecond C${\mathrm{O}}_2$ laser pulses at intensities of ∼${10}^{14}$W ${\mathrm{cm}}^{-2\mathrm{}}$ is examined through the study of its effect on subsidiary passive targets. The observed propagation velocity is similar to the estimated superthermal ion acoustic speed and has an intensity dependence of $I^{0.14-0.21}$.