Spectroscopic analysis of non-LTE gold plasmas

Summary form only given. Understanding and predicting the characteristics of non-LTE plasmas plays an important role in the development of inertial confinement fusion schemes. This paper presents a preliminary spectroscopic analysis of M-shell gold spectra collected over a wide range of electron and radiation temperatures. The 2.9-4.2 keV emission spectra are obtained from gold samples embedded in beryllium disks that are directly heated by the Omega laser, forming plasmas with electron densities near 10/sup 21/ cm/sup -3/ and electron temperatures from 1 to 3 keV. Some of the disks are placed within hohlraums, providing a finite radiation temperature near 150 eV. The spectra from these plasmas are analyzed to determine the variation of the gold charge state balance over a wide range of plasma conditions. The spectroscopic analysis is complemented by Thomson scattering and imaging of plasma expansion, which provide independent estimates of electron densities and temperatures.