Computational investigations of x-ray illuminated foam spheres of different opacities
POSTER
Abstract
The radiation hydrodynamics of x-ray illuminated foam spheres of different densities were investigated experimentally on the OMEGA-60 laser system to study radiatively-imploded molecular gas clouds relevant to star formation. In the optically thick case, prediction of the shock location and strength is important for experimental design. We investigate a number of experimentally-relevant conditions for different densities (and opacities) by comparing semi-analytical self-similar solutions for equilibrium radiation diffusion to three-temperature simulations using the flux-limited diffusion radiation hydrodynamics code CRASH. Although the theory captures some of the salient features of the problem, we find that the three-temperature simulations are necessary for accurate heat-front and shock location predictions in the majority of cases considered.
*This work is funded by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under subcontract B632749, and was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344.