Occurrence of high-energy electrons and surface expansion in laser-heated target plasmas

Abstract

It is shown that limitations on collisionless electron thermal conduction place a lower limit on the range of energies of electrons in the surface of target plasmas which are heated by incident electromagnetic radiation, and that in cases of contemporary experimental interest these energies can be hundreds of keV. It is then shown that these high-energy electrons can cause a much faster expansion of plasma from the heated surface than would be predicted by a single fluid theory. Numerical simulations demonstrate both effects.