Abstract
Fast ionization fronts have been experimentally observed to propagate ahead of a laser-produced plasma expanding into low-density background gas. The ionizing wave has a velocity of 0.3-3×108 cm/sec and a thickness of 1-10 cm both quantities increasing with radius of propagation. Langmuir probe and microwave diagnostics indicate that the wave augments the initial photoionization density by a factor of ∼3; potential fluctuations exist within the wave which can accelerate electrons to energies above the ionization threshold. Equations describing a collisional ionizing electron wave are solved in an approximate manner to yield relations which agree with many features of the measured phenomena.
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