Low /spl eta/ scaling of K-shell emission with mass and Z

Abstract

Summary form only given, as follows. Because of the large amount of kinetic energy and mass needed for efficient production of K-shell emission from a high Z plasma, high Z experiments will likely take place at low /spl eta/ values. Since there has been no systematic theoretical or experimental investigation of K-shell yield scaling with mass and atomic number Z in the low /spl eta/ regime, an investigation was recently undertaken in preparation for future high Z experiments. In particular aluminum, titanium, and krypton plasmas were studied. The results of this study have identified the following problem areas: low /spl eta/ plasmas remain in an inefficient mass (or I/sup 4/) scaling regime at much higher masses than predicted by our earlier work which was based on /spl eta/>3 calculations, more energy than predicted by the earlier scaling laws will apparently be needed to obtain significant amounts of krypton K-shell emission. In addition time dependent ionization dynamics plays an increasingly important role in K-shell scaling as the Z of the load increases. The ramifications of each of these findings in terms of design of future experiments and goals are discussed.