Application of a dielectric breakdown induced by high-power lasers for a laboratory simulation of meteor plasma

Spectra of meteor plasma, their dynamics and dominant spectral features are usually a subject of mathematical modelling and computations. In our study, on the other hand, we describe and evaluate the advantages and limitations of the experimental techniques employed for meteor spectra simulations. The experiments are performed by ablating meteorite samples using a series of laser sources, i.e. a large terawatt−class gas laser infrastructure PALS, a high-power Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser, and laboratory Nd:YAG and ArF excimer lasers. We demonstrate that, notwithstanding the importance of theoretical spectra computation, laboratory experiments may remarkably enhance the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the meteor emission spectra measured, as well as the assignment of important spectral features therein. We also perform completing experiments to compare the laser-target interaction observed with the expected dynamics of evaporation and disintegration of a real meteoroid body.