Improving spectral analysis of buried layer experiments at the Orion Laser Facility

High energy density (HED) plasmas are present throughout the Universe in stars, planetary interiors, accreting black holes, and in laboratory experiments. HED matter has proven difficult to study experimentally, and there are significant challenges in our ability to model and predict the properties of HED systems with high confidence. Short-pulse laser-driven opacity experiments have been conducted at the Atomic Weapons Establishment’s Orion Laser Facility [1] — resulting in a collection of x-ray emission data from a variety of materials. During these experimental campaigns, the spectral diagnostics have become increasingly sophisticated, and now include multiple time-resolved spectrometers as well as different imaging diagnostics. In this talk, we discuss improvements made to create synthetic spectroscopic data for comparison to measurements from recent iron experiments. We focus on the post-processing of radiation-hydrodynamic models with Cretin [2]. Comparisons between synthetic and measured spectra aid in understanding the evolution of plasmas produced in short-pulse laser-driven buried layer experiments performed at the Orion laser facility.

Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

[1] N. Hopps, et al., Plasma Phys. and Cont. Fusion 57, 064002 (2015)

[2] H. A. Scott, and R. W. Mayle, Applied Physics B 58, 35—43 (1994)