Miniature shock tube for laser driven shocks

International audienceWe describe in this paper the design of a miniature shock tube (smaller than 1 cm3) that can be placed in a vacuum vessel and allows transverse optical probing and longitudinal backside XUV emission spectroscopy. Typical application is the study of laser launched radiative shocks, in the framework of what is called "laboratory Astrophysics"

Experimental study of radiative shocks at PALS facility

We report on the investigation of strong radiative shocks generated with the high energy, sub-nanosecond iodine laser at PALS. These shock waves are characterized by a developed radiative precursor and their dynamics is analyzed over long time scales (~50 ns), approaching a quasi-stationary limit. We present the first preliminary results on the rear side XUV spectroscopy. These studies are relevant to the understanding of the spectroscopic signatures of accretion shocks in Classical T Tauri Stars.Comment: 21 pages, 1 table, 7 figure