How to Produce a Plasma Jet Using a Single and Low Energy Laser Beam.

Under suitable conditions on laser intensity, focal spot radius and atomic number a radiative jet was launched from a planar target. This jet was produced using a relatively low energy laser pulse, below 500 J and it presents similarities with astrophysical protostellar jets. It lasts more than 10 ns, extends over several millimeters, has velocity more than 500 km/s, the Mach number more than 10 and the density above 1018 cm−3. The mechanism of jet formation was inferred from the dimensional analysis and hydrodynamic two-dimensional simulations. It is related to the radiative cooling while the magnetic fields play a minor role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]