Temperature and Kalpha-yield radial distributions in laser-produced solid-density plasmas imaged with ultrahigh-resolution x-ray spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT

We study warm dense matter formed by subpicosecond laser irradiation at several 10(19) W/cm(2) of thin Ti foils using x-ray spectroscopy with high spectral (E/DeltaE approximately 15,000) and one-dimensional spatial (Deltax=13.5 microm) resolutions. Ti Kalpha doublets modeled by line-shape calculations are compared with Abel-inverted single-pulse experimental spectra and provide radial distributions of the bulk-electron temperature and the absolute-photon number Kalpha yield in the target interiors. A core with approximately 40 eV extends homogeneously up to ten times the laser-focus size. The spatial distributions of the bulk-electron temperature and Kalpha yield are strongly correlated.