Towards an experimental benchmark for aluminum X-ray spectra

To test the validity of kinetics for laser-produced plasmas, one would like to measure the X-ray spectrum emitted from a plasma volume whose characteristics are determined by diagnostics that do not rely on interpreting the X-ray spectrum itself. An experimental test bed has been developed at the Janus laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to simultaneously characterize the electron temperature, the electron density and the X-ray emission from laser-irradiated aluminum dot targets. Thomson scattering, interferometry and pinhole imaging are implemented to achieve this. Further, the X-ray spectrum from 1–2 keV is spatially integrated and is obtained using a flat crystal (PET) and an X-ray streak camera for time resolution. Spectra have been calculated using the HULLAC and FLY atomic physics codes which use the measured density and temperature as input, and DCA which calculates X-ray spectra from the 2-D expanding plasma calculated by a hydrodynamics code. Comparisons of the models with the data will be discussed and future directions will be indicated.