Radiating Shock Experiments on the Omega Laser
Forrest Doss, University of Michigan
Astrophysical systems in which radiation transport across a shock front contributes substantially to the properties and dynamics of the system may be modeled in laboratory experiments under high-energy-density conditions. Recent experiments on the Omega laser facility have launched drive disks of Be into shock tubes of Xe gas at atmospheric pressure to produce radiating shocks, which are then diagnosed for structure and density profile by x-ray pinhole radiography. A series of radiation-hydrodynamics simulations using the code HYDRA have been produced, exploring the predicted outcomes of experiments of this type. The simulations are currently assisting in our target design process and in choosing which experiments should be run to obtain maximum information of interest. Design of a future stereoscopic x-ray imaging experiment to diagnose structure growth in the shocks will be presented, as will theoretical results supporting the instabilities’ presence.
Abstract Author(s): F. W. Doss, R. P. Drake, H. F. Robey