INVERSE BREMSSTRAHLUNG IN STRONG RADIATION-FIELDS AT LOW-TEMPERATURES

The process of above threshold ionization by plane polarized intense radiation fields has enabled cold ionized plasmas to be created. The final temperature depends on the heating process during the laser pulse. Collisional or inverse bremsstrahlung is a major effect at high density. It is argued that under these extreme conditions the conventional treatments of the Coulomb logarithm for electron-ion collisions is inadequate. Using a simple impact, or classical, approximation, corrected expressions and simple approximations are derived for this heating rate. © 1995 The American Physical Society.