<i>L</i>-shell absorption spectrum of an open-<i>M</i>-shell germanium plasma: Comparison of experimental data with a detailed configuration-accounting calculation

Abstract

The radiative opacity of a near-local thermodynamic equilibrium, open-M-shell Ge plasma has been measured in the region of the 2p-3d and 2p-4d transition arrays, and is compared for the first time with the results of a detailed configuration-accounting calculation which includes an approximate treatment of term widths. The plasma was generated by radiation heating using thermal x radiation from a laser-produced gold plasma. Temperature and density were characterized in experiments which observed the absorption spectra of Al and Mg plasmas and by radiographic measurements of the expansion of the heated foil samples.