The production of high temperature plasmas by intense laser pulses

Abstract

The possibility of producing dense high temperature plasmas by heating magnetically contained plasma with a pulsed laser beam is considered. The process requires high ion densities (> 1017 cm-3) to be maintained during the heating period, and the magnetic field strength required to contain such a plasma has been calculated in terms of both the kinetic pressure and Bohm diffusion of the plasma. Radiation and conduction losses from the plasma are also considered, and it is concluded that temperatures of the order of 106 °K should be obtainable within present-day limits of field strength and photon flux.