Absorption spectroscopy of a laboratory photoionized plasma experiment at Z.

The Z facility at the Sandia National Laboratories is the most energetic terrestrial source of X-rays and provides an opportunity to produce photoionized plasmas in a relatively well characterised radiation environment. We use detailed atomic-kinetic and spectral simulations to analyze the absorption spectra of a photoionized neon plasma driven by the x-ray flux from a z-pinch. The broadband x-ray flux both photoionizes and backlights the plasma. In particular, we focus on extracting the charge state distribution of the plasma and the characteristics of the radiation field driving the plasma in order to estimate the ionisation parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]