Radiative properties of stellar plasmas and open challenges

The lifetime of solar-like stars, the envelope structure of more massive stars, and stellar acoustic frequencies largely depend on the radiative properties of the stellar plasma. Up to now, these complex quantities have been estimated only theoretically. The development of the powerful tools of helio- and astero- seismology has made it possible to gain insights on the interiors of stars. Consequently, increased emphasis is now placed on knowledge of the monochromatic opacity coefficients. Here we review how these radiative properties play a role, and where they are most important. We then concentrate specifically on the envelopes of $\beta$ Cephei variable stars. We discuss the dispersion of eight different theoretical estimates of the monochromatic opacity spectrum and the challenges we need to face to check these calculations experimentally.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, in press (conference HEDLA 2010

Extensive characterization of Marshak waves observed at the LIL laser facility

International audienceWe detail results of an experiment performed at the Ligne d'Intégration Laser (LIL) facility aimed at studying supersonic and diffusive radiation front propagation in low density SiO2 aerogel (20 and 40 mg/cm 3) enclosed in a gold tube, driven by thermal emission from a laserheated spherical gold cavity. Evolution of the front is studied continuously by measuring its self-emission with a 1D (1 dimensional) time resolved soft-x-ray imager. Measurement is performed along (through a 200 µm wide observation slit) and at the exit of the tube giving access to the dynamics and the curvature of the front. Experimental results are then compared successfully to results from the 3D (3 dimensional) radiation hydrodynamics code TROLL which shows that if continuous tracking of the front position is accessible with this experimental scheme, measurement of its maximum radiation temperature is on the contrary affected by radiation closure of the observation slit. 3D simulations also indicate that this effect can even be worsened if one includes pointing errors of the x-ray imager. Radiation temperature along the tube was then inferred by combining results from the imager to a wall shock breakout time measurement using a VISAR and results from a broadband x-ray spectrometer used to determine the temperature at the exit of the tube. A decrease of the radiation temperature along the tube is observed, the decrease being more important for the higher SiO2 aerogel density

Supersonic-to-subsonic transition of a radiation wave observed at the LMJ

International audienceWe detail results of an experiment performed at the Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) facilityaimed at studying transition from supersonic radiation front to shock front in a lowdensity CHOBr foam enclosed in a plastic tube driven by thermal emission producedin a laser heated spherical gold cavity. Time resolved 2D hard x-ray radiographyimaging using a Sc source (photon energy at ~ 4.3 keV) is employed to measure thedensity perturbation front position, absorption, curvature and shocked materialcompression (defined as the compressed foam density normalized to its nominal value)from the supersonic to the subsonic regimes of propagation. Between these two regimeswhere compression goes from 1 (limited hydrodynamics) to 4 (strong shock formed), aquick increase of the foam compression is observed at the transition time tHS =6.75±0.75 ns, corresponding to the transient transonic regime (HS means“hydrodynamically separated” and refers to the instant when the shock and the radiationfront physically separate). This time is associated to a foam compression ratio of ~2and a Mach number of the slowing down front below M < 2. Experimental results aresuccessfully compared to 3D hydrodynamics simulations; comparisons never presentedfor that regime in past similar studies to our knowledge. Simulations show that thetransition time tHS is sensitive to the radiation closure of the tube entrance. This closure, which occurs in 3D, affects the amount of x-ray energy coupled from the laser heatedcavity to the CHOBr foam, and consequently the transient transonic regime dynamics

Simultaneous X-ray and XUV absorption measurements in nickel laser-produced plasma close to LTE

International audienceWe present an experiment performed in 2016 at the LULI2000 laser facility in which X-ray and XUV absorption structures of nickel hot plasmas were measured simultaneously. Such experiments may provide stringent tests of the accuracy of plasma atomic-physics codes used to the modeling of plasmas close to local thermodynamic equilibrium. The experimental setup relies on a symmetric heating of the sample foil by two gold hohlraums in order to reduce the spatial gradients. The plasma conditions are characterized by temperatures between 10 and 20 eV and densities of the order of 10$^{−3}$ g/cm $^3$-10$^{−2}$ g/cm$^3$. For the X-ray part, we investigate the 2p-3d and 2p-4d transitions, and for the XUV part, we recorded the $\Delta$n = 0 (n = 3) transitions, which present a high sensitivity to plasma temperature. These latter transitions are of particular interest because, in mid-Z plasmas, they dominate the Planck and Rosseland mean opacities. Measured spectra are compared to calculations performed using the hybrid opacity code SCO-RCG and the Flexible Atomic Code (FAC). The influence of a spectator electron on the calculated spectra is analyzed using the latter code

CVD diamond detector with interdigitated electrode pattern for time-of-flight energy-loss measurements of low-energy ion bunches

International audienceIon stopping experiments in plasma for beam energies of few hundred keV per nucleon are of great interest to benchmark the stopping-power models in the context of inertial confinement fusion and high-energy-density physics research. For this purpose, a specific ion detector on chemical-vapor-deposition diamond basis has been developed for precise time-of-flight measurements of the ion energy loss. The electrode structure is interdigitated for maximizing its sensitivity to low-energy ions, and it has a finger width of 100 μm and a spacing of 500 μm. A short single α-particle response is obtained, with signals as narrow as 700 ps at full width at half maximum. The detector has been tested with α-particle bunches at a 500 keV per nucleon energy, showing an excellent time-of-flight resolution down to 20 ps. In this way, beam energy resolutions from 0.4 keV to a few keV have been obtained in an experimental configuration using a 100 μg/cm2 thick carbon foil as an energy-loss target and a 2 m time-of-flight distance. This allows a highly precise beam energy measurement of δE/E ≈ 0.04%–0.2% and a resolution on the energy loss of 0.6%–2.5% for a fine testing of stopping-power models