Imaging the dynamics of initial laser-driven shocks and blowoff plasmas in polystyrene under laser-direct-drive fusion conditions

Abstract

The dynamics of laser-driven shock propagation in solid ablator material, along with the concomitant processes of shinethrough and blowoff plasma plume expansion, at conditions relevant to laser-direct-drive fusion are measured using a tabletop system capable of supporting rapid dataset development with significantly higher resolution compared to existing methods. The experimental results are directly compared with current radiation-hydrodynamic simulations using the two-dimensional code draco. Discrepancies between experiments and simulations are evidenced and attributed to limitation of simulation to account for important processes involved in the solid-to-plasma transition.