Observation of ions with energies above 100 keV produced by the interaction of a 60-fs laser pulse with clusters

Abstract

The x-ray spectra of a plasma generated by heating CO2 and Ar clusters with high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses with q las≃1018 W/cm2 are investigated. Spatially resolved x-ray spectra of a cluster plasma are obtained for the first time. Photoionization absorption is observed to influence the spectral line profiles. The recorded features of the x-ray emission spectra definitely indicate the existence of a large relative number of excited ions (≃10−2–10−3) with energies of 0.1–1 MeV in such a plasma. Possible mechanisms underlying the acceleration of ions to high energies are discussed. It is shown that the experimental results can be attributed to the influence of ponderomotive forces in standing waves generated by the reflection of laser radiation from the clusters.