Measurement of shock heating in laser-irradiated solids

We have obtained the first temporally resolved measurement of the entire visible spectrum of shock-induced luminescence from the rear surface of a laser-irradiated aluminum foil. This yielded a detailed time history (200 ps resolution) of the spectral temperature of the target rear surface. The results were consistent with that obtained from brightness temperature measurements. The measured shock-heated temperature also showed good agreement with hydrodynamic simulations addressing the effect of shock-unloading in the target rear side.