Experimental Evidence of Interpenetration and High Ion Temperature in Colliding Plasmas

The collision of two plasmas produced from laser-exploded Al/Al and Al/Mg foils has been studied by x-ray diagnostics over a wide range of experimental conditions. Ion temperatures of about 10 keV have been unambiguously inferred from Doppler broadening. The interpenetration distances have been determined by the spatial extent of Mg and Al ion emission. The comparison of experimental data with multifluid and atomic physics simulations gives a good understanding of the localization and dynamics of the kinetic to thermal energy transfer in the interpenetration regime.