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A laser experiment for studying radiative shocks in astrophysics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2002

X. FLEURY
Affiliation:
Département de Physique Théorique et Appliquée, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, BP 12, 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel, France
S. BOUQUET
Affiliation:
Département de Physique Théorique et Appliquée, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, BP 12, 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel, France
C. STEHLÉ
Affiliation:
Département d'Astrophysique Stellaire et Galactique, Observatoire de Paris, 92195 Meudon, France
M. KOENIG
Affiliation:
Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (LULI), UMR 7605, CNRS–CEA–Université Paris VI–École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France
D. BATANI
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Fisica “G. Occhialini,” Università di Milano–Bicocca and INFM, Via Emanueli 15, 20126 Milano, Italy
A. BENUZZI-MOUNAIX
Affiliation:
Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (LULI), UMR 7605, CNRS–CEA–Université Paris VI–École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France
J.-P. CHIÈZE
Affiliation:
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, DSM, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
N. GRANDJOUAN
Affiliation:
Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (LULI), UMR 7605, CNRS–CEA–Université Paris VI–École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France
J. GRENIER
Affiliation:
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, CESTA, BP 2, 33114 Le Barp, France
T. HALL
Affiliation:
University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
E. HENRY
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Fisica “G. Occhialini,” Università di Milano–Bicocca and INFM, Via Emanueli 15, 20126 Milano, Italy
J.-P. LAFON
Affiliation:
Département d'Astrophysique Stellaire et Galactique, Observatoire de Paris, 92195 Meudon, France
S. LEYGNAC
Affiliation:
Département d'Astrophysique Stellaire et Galactique, Observatoire de Paris, 92195 Meudon, France
V. MALKA
Affiliation:
Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (LULI), UMR 7605, CNRS–CEA–Université Paris VI–École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France
B. MARCHET
Affiliation:
Département de Conception et de Réalisation des Expériences, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, BP 12, 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel, France
H. MERDJI
Affiliation:
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, DSM, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
C. MICHAUT
Affiliation:
Département d'Astrophysique Stellaire et Galactique, Observatoire de Paris, 92195 Meudon, France
F. THAIS
Affiliation:
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, DSM, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France

Abstract

In this article, we present a laboratory astrophysics experiment on radiative shocks and its interpretation using simple modelization. The experiment is performed with a 100-J laser (pulse duration of about 0.5 ns) which irradiates a 1-mm3 xenon gas-filled cell. Descriptions of both the experiment and the associated diagnostics are given. The apparition of a radiation precursor in the unshocked material is evidenced from interferometry diagrams. A model including self-similar solutions and numerical ones is derived and fairly good agreements are obtained between the theoretical and the experimental results.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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