Long pulse x-ray emission from laser-irradiated exploding cylinders

A CO2 laser was used to irradiate hollow polystyrene cylinders along their axis. The laser-generated high-energy electrons appear to uniformly heat the cylinder throughout its volume and the cylinder explodes. The imploding and stagnation character of the exploding cylinder gives rise to a long x-ray pulse, much longer than the laser pulse, and to a peak emission that occurs after the laser pulse. The fast ions that are generated appear not to interact with the thermal plasma. Two-dimensional calculations that reproduce much of the experimental x-ray signature and observed hydrodynamic flow are presented.