Application of Laser Simulation Method for the Analysis of Crater Formation Experiment on PALS Laser.

The crater formation process is studied in the "laser - Al solid target" interactions on the PALS iodine laser facility. A great variety of laser beam parameters are used to irradiate massive aluminum targets. Large laser energies available (up to 600 J) open a possibility to investigate the process of crater formation for physical conditions different from the earlier studies for the lower laser energies. Comparison with the earlier results is presented. A simple theory, LSM (laser simulation method), has been applied for the analysis of the experimental results. This model leads to a universal relation (scaling law) for the crater relative volume. Our work extends the study of crater formation to the "virtual" macroparticle velocities exceeding 100 km/s. The scaling law is derived here for this previously unexplored region. An alternative method of studying crater formation is also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]