Plasma Jet Interaction with Thomson Scattering Probe Laser

Thomson scattering systems can diagnose plasma temperatures and velocities. When probing a plasma jet with the Thomson scattering laser, we observe a laser-plasma interaction that inputs energy into the plasma jet. The absorbed energy causes a bubble of low density (\textasciitilde 5*10\textasciicircum 17 cm\textasciicircum -2) in the jet (unperturbed \textasciitilde 10\textasciicircum 18 cm\textasciicircum -2). A pulsed power machine (1 MA peak current, 100 ns rise time) with a radial foil (15 $\mu $m thick Al) configuration generates the plasma jet. We compare the effects of using 10 J and 1 J laser energies, for which the 10 J laser is a larger perturbation. We discuss how the interaction affects the Thomson scattering temperature and velocity measurements.