One-Dimensional Laser Heating of a Stationary Plasma

The problem of laser energy addition to a nonuniform one-dimensional plasma is considered. The object is to study plasmas which may achieve temperatures and densities of interest for application to controlled thermonuclear reactions. The advent of the nanosecond and picosecond lasers makes it possible to consider the heating of stationary, nonthermally conducting plasmas with a nonuniform density distribution in which only the electrons are heated. The solutions show that for a wide range of relevant parameters these assumptions are valid. The temperatures that can be produced are of interest in controlled thermonuclear reactions. Depending on the steepness of the density gradient, either wavelike or simultaneous heating is produced. Also, the temperature distribution is very much nonuniform and can significantly affect the subsequent dynamics of the plasma.