Impact of super-Gaussian electron distributions on plasma K-shell emission
Abstract
Electron distributions in laser-produced plasmas will be driven toward a super-Gaussian distribution due to inverse bremsstrahlung absorption [Langdon, Phys. Rev. Lett. 44, 575 (1980)]. Both theoretical and experimental evidence suggest that fundamental plasma properties are altered by the super-Gaussian distribution. This paper examines how the super-Gaussian distribution affects the ionization balance and K-shell emission of atomic plasmas, utilizing approximate formulas and detailed collisional-radiative simulations. While the impact on plasma ionization is small, K-shell spectra can be significantly modified. Based on these findings, we demonstrate that K-shell spectroscopy can be used to infer super-Gaussian or other similar non-equilibrium electron distributions.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2507.02341,
title = {Impact of super-Gaussian electron distributions on plasma K-shell emission},
author = {H. P. Le and E. V. Marley and H. A. Scott},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.02341},
year = {2025}
}