Interaction of high intensity laser with non-uniform clusters and enhanced X-ray emission

Abstract

Laser irradiated clusters with non-uniform density variation are shown to broaden surface plasmon resonance very significantly. As the clusters get heated and expand hydro-dynamically, the Bremsstrahlung X-ray emission yield passes through a maximum in time. The maximum yield decreases with increase in non-uniformity in the electron density inside the clusters. At higher laser intensity, the nonlinearity in laser cluster interaction may arise even prior to electron heating, via the relativistic mass variation and the nonlinear restoration force on electrons. For clusters with radius less than one tenth of the laser wavelength, the restoration force nonlinearity dominates.