The investigation of the optics of shock‐compressed strongly correlated plasma

Abstract

Rare gas plasmas at high temperatures and pressures, produced by explosive shock fronts, are explored using laser diagnostics. The analysis of the response of a dense plasma to an electromagnetic wave of moderate‐intensity proves successful for investigating properties and the validity of physical models describing the behaviour of dense and non‐ideal plasmas. We present new experimental data for the reflectivity of oblique incidence of polarized electromagnetic waves on the front of shock‐compressed xenon plasmas. The optical properties of strongly correlated plasma were studied in the near‐infrared and green spectral regions at a plasma mass density ρ = 0.83 g/cm3 and temperature T = 32900 K. The spatial parameters of the plasma transition shock‐front layer are determined by solving numerically the electromagnetic field equations.