Heating effects and gas-dynamic expansion of the plasma plume produced by irradiating a solid with laser pulses

Pulsed laser irradiation of a solid target involves many physical processes starting with the coupling of a high flux of laser radiation to the surface, continuing with particle release and with laser - plume interaction, and ending with gas-dynamic expansion of the plume. The primary processes include electronic excitation followed by heating, and the secondary processes concern expansion of the plume as it moves away from the target surface. Theory and experiment on problems related to the surface phenomena, the laser - plume interaction, and the gas-dynamic expansion are discussed here.