MATTER ACCELERATION IN LASER-IRRADIATED MULTIFOIL SYSTEMS

Experimental and theoretical studies of collisions of thin planar aluminum foils and Mylar films accelerated to high velocities by powerful laser radiation (lambda = 1.054-mu-m, I = (5-7) x 10(13) W/cm2, pulse duration 2 nsec) are reported. The "induced opacity" diagnostic technique developed in the present work in order to estimate compactness of accelerated plasmoids is described. The experimental data and numerical simulation results presented indicate feasibility of a "soft" low-entropy mechanism of matter acceleration in a condensed state to tens of kilometers per second by a high-velocity plasmoid impacting a thin-film target.