On the coupling of blast wave theory with atomic excitation in low-energy laser-induced plasmas formed in gases

Time-dependent intensities of the spectral lines emitted by laser-induced plasmas generated in several gases are presented. The time-resolved and spatially varying intensities of two once-ionized nitrogen lines were used to calculate radial temperature distribution of temperature within the plasma. A modified blast wave theory, in which ionization was included through the Saha equation and the equation of conservation of charge, was used to calculate time-dependent intensities of several spectral lines of C, N, He, and Ar. The temporal profiles of the spectral lines appear to be dependent on the ionization potentials of the species in the plasma.