Observations consistent with self-generated magnetic fields in CO2 laser-produced plasmas

Abstract

The spatial structure of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) line emission from plasmas produced by nanosecond CO2 laser pulses has been examined with a slitless normal-incidence vacuum-ultraviolet spectrograph in the 200–500-Å spectral region. The anomalous structural behavior of these spectra is consistent with the existence of self-generated magnetic fields. These fields could also explain the gross plasma structure observed through picosecond interferometry.