Calculations of the radiative opacity of laser-produced plasmas

Abstract

The author presents a model for the calculation of the radiative opacity of high-power laser-produced plasmas in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The model uses detailed configuration accounting in an open shell for both the line and photoelectric absorption. It also includes the effect of term-splitting by employing an unresolved transition array approach and the effect of satellite lines by using a statistical method. The predictions of the model are compared with experimental measurements of the LTE opacity made using high-power laser-produced plasmas.