Optical diagnostics of plasmas created by relativistic heavy ion beam interaction with solid targets

Intense (10/sup 11/ particles/1 /spl mu/s, /spl sim/300 MeV/u) heavy ion beams are generated in the heavy-ion synchrotron (SIS) of the GSI-Darmstadt facility. By the heavy ion beam interaction with solid targets, large volumes of strongly coupled plasmas are produced at solid state densities and temperatures of up to 1 eV, with relevance for equation of state (EOS) studies, astrophysics, and low entropy shock compression of solid matter. The plasmas created by ion beam interaction with cryogenic crystals are mainly studied by back-lighting shadowgraphy and time-resolved spectroscopy in the visible and VUV ranges. The pressure waves induced by the ion beams in the metal-plexiglas multi-layered targets were studied mainly by time resolved schlieren measurements, revealing induced multiple shockwaves of several kbar. To get an insight into the plasma dynamics, both types of experiments are simulated by the BIG-2 two-dimensional hydrodynamic code. In future experiments the schlieren method will be coupled with interferometry and piezoelectric pressure gauge (PVDF) measurements for a complete characterization of the ion beam induced pressure waves.