Recent measurements of the absorption coefficients of L transitions in iron and nickel hot plasmas are reported following a brief review of the published experiments on opacities and absorption coefficients which have been performed until now in laser-heated cavities and Z-pinches. Emphasis is put on the impact of these measurements in astrophysics.

Chromatin is the complex of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) with proteins that exists in eukaryotic cell nuclei. Chromatin was extracted from livers of Wistar rats and subjected to a 248-nm excimer laser radiation, in doses of 0.5–3 MJ/m2. An UV excimer laser Iofan 1701, with 40-mJ dose/pulse and frequency of 30 Hz was used. The radiolysis of chromatin was analyzed by (1) 1H-NMR spectroscopy, (2) steady-state fluorescence, (3) time-resolved fluorescence, and (4) fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) methods. The laser action on chromatin determines bigger values of the transverse relaxation time (T2), which indicates less bound water in the chromatin structure, therefore a more injured one. The chromatin intrinsic fluorescence decreases on laser action, proving the destruction of the chromatin protein structure. By the time-resolved fluorescence we established that the relative contribution of the excited state lifetime of bound ethidium bromide to chromatin DNA diminishes with the laser dose. This denotes single- and double-strand breaks produced in DNA structure. By the FRET method, the energy transfer efficiency and the distance between dansyl chloride and acridine orange coupled at chromatin were determined. The distance increases with laser action. The determination of the chromatin structure modification in an excimer laser field can be of real interest in medical applications.

The paper discusses recent advances in the use of foams in laser–plasma experiments, concerning in particular: (1) the use of foam in order to get an efficient smoothing of laser energy deposition, (2) the problem of hydrodynamics of layered foam-payload targets, (3) the use of foam for shock pressure amplification in equation-of-state experiments, (4) the study of the equation of state of foams in the Megabar regime, and (5) the use of foams for astrophysics relevant experiments, here in particular shock acceleration experiments.

New results concerning the process of dynamic fracture of materials (spallation) by laser-induced shock waves are presented. The Nd-glass laser installations SIRIUS and KAMERTON were used for generation of shock waves with pressure up to 1 Mbar in plane Al alloy targets. The wavelengths of laser radiation were 1.06 and 0.53 μm, the target thickness was changed from 180 to 460 μm, and the laser radiation was focused in a spot with a 1-mm diameter on the surface of AMg6M aluminum alloy targets. Experimental results were compared to predictions of a numerical code which employed a real semiempirical wide-range equation of state. Strain rates in experiments were changed from 106 to 5 × 107 s−1. Two regimes of spallation were evidenced: the already known dynamic regime and a new quasi-stationary regime. An ultimate dynamic strength of 80 kbar was measured. Finally, experiments on targets with artificial spall layers were performed showing material hardening due to shock-wave compression.

The paper reviews and analyses the experiments devoted to the propagation in dense matter of fast electrons produced in the interaction of short-pulse ultra-high-intensity laser pulses with solid density targets.

By analytical modeling and numerical simulation, we show that surface modes in moderately overdense plasmas may be excited parametrically by an intense, ultrashort laser pulse. This process has a feedback effect on fast electron generation and may seed a fast distortion of plasma “moving mirrors.”

A simple heuristic model is developed to examine the feasibility of using radiation pressure as a means to transport plasma dust out of the path of the forthcoming electron or photon beam. A slow electromagnetic surface wave coupled to a planar target or substrate exerts the required pressure in the removal process. The model is examined using data and parameters from single-shot radiography experiments. Optimal source requirements are identified for a typical radiography experiment. Source energies and powers are a minimum over an optimum band of frequencies where both conduction and plasma oscillation effects are mutually significant. Above the band of frequencies, dissipative losses in the surface supporting the surface wave increases exponentially with frequency. Below the optimal band, the energy concentration over the plume at the surface structure decreases significantly with frequency, thereby requiring higher source energies/powers for plasma removal.

The problem of energy recuperator for a high current sheet electron beam used to drive a millimeter-waves generator is considered. There are two main obstacles to solving the problem. The first one is the presence of a magnetic field guiding beam electrons. The second obstacle is significant energy and angular spreads of the electrons in the waste beam. To overcome these obstacles, we suggest a novel scheme of a recuperator. The main idea of the proposed scheme is the use of a decelerating electrical field together with a guiding magnetic field that has longitudinal and spatial periodic transverse components. Resonance of a bounce electron motion with the cyclotron motion in this field gives a strong increase in the Larmour radius of electrons with the energy in a narrow interval. The decelerated electrons with the resonance energy fall away from the beam and are absorbed by a collector at a proper potential. It is shown that efficiency of this novel scheme can reach about 80% even if the sheet beam has a broad energy spectrum.

The Publisher is very sorry for not listing this article on the Table of Contents for Volume 20, Number 1, 2002.