Simulations of hot, dense iron plasma opacity at 89 eV and comparison with experiment

Abstract

Predictions of hot, dense iron plasma opacity at 89 eV photon energy are compared with experimental determinations from the transmission of laser-heated iron to extreme ultra-violet (EUV) laser radiation. The EUV laser was pumped using six beams of an Nd-Yag laser in a refraction compensating geometry, while another beam irradiated a tamped solid iron target with an intensity of ∼10 14 W cm −2. The Ehybrid hydrodynamic and atomic physics code was used to predict temperatures, densities and ionisation throughout the evolving iron plasma. The iron opacities were deduced taking into account free–free, bound–free and bound–bound absorption. Bound–bound absorption was considered using atomic data generated by the Opacity Project. Reasonable overall agreement between theory and experiment was obtained for the iron layer transmission. The simulations indicated the dominance of bound–bound absorption throughout most regions of the iron plasma, but also the potential importance of photoionisation from core levels where energetically possible.