The production of strong blast waves through intense laser irradiation of atomic clusters

An understanding of radiation effects on the evolution of shock waves is of great importance to many problems in astrophysics. Shock waves driven by a laser-heated plasma are attractive for laboratory investigation of these p henomena. Recent studies of intense short-pulse laser interactions with gas es of atomic clusters indicate a potential avenue to access this regime of radiative hydrodynamics. We have measured the energy absorption efficiency of high-intensity, picosecond laser pulses in low-density gases composed of large atomic clusters and find that the energy absorption can be very high (> 95%), producing a high-temperature plasma filament which consequently p roduces a strong blast wave. Interferometric characterization of these shoc k waves indicates that in high-Z gases such as Xe, radiation transport play s an important role in the evolution of the shock wave.