Blast-Wave Generation and Propagation in Rapidly Heated Laser-Irradiated Targets

Time-resolved extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectroscopy was used to study the creation and propagation of a $>$100-Mbar blast wave in a target irradiated by an intense ($>10^{18} \quad {\mbox{W}} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{\mbox{W}} {\mbox{cm}^{2}}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\mbox{cm}^{2}})$ laser pulse. Blast waves provide a platform to generate immense pressures in the laboratory. A temporal double flash of XUV radiation was observed when viewing the rear side of the target, which is attributed to the emergence of a blast wave following rapid heating by a fast-electron beam generated from the laser pulse. The time-history of XUV emission in the photon energy range of 50 to 200 eV was recorded with an x-ray streak camera with 7-ps temporal resolution. The heating and expansion of the target was simulated with an electron transport code coupled to 1-D radiation--hydrodynamics simulations. The temporal delay between the two flashes measured in a systematic study of target thickness and composition was found to evolve in good agreement with a Sedov--Taylor blast-wave solution. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944 and Department of Energy Office of Science Award Number DE-SC-0012317.