ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF HOT-ELECTRONS PRODUCED IN SHORT-PULSE LASER-PLASMA INTERACTION

Information about the energy distribution of hot electrons generated b y the interaction of short-pulse (0.7 ps pulse duration at 1.05 mu m l aser wavelength) and high-intensity (5 x 10(17) W cm(-2)) laser beams with solid targets is derived from measurements of the spectral and an gular distribution of hard x-rays with energies above 10 keV. The meas urements were carried out with thermoluminescence dosemeters and a nin e-channel spectrometer. A comparison of experimental data and model ca lculations shows that under the conditions of our experiment the hot-e lectron distribution deviates significantly from a Maxwell-Boltzmann s hape with a single-electron temperature parameter.