Propagation of laser generated plasmas through inert gases

A fast photo imaging technique has been used to characterize the expansion dynamics of a laser generated silver plasma propagating through background inert gases (He and Ar) at different pressures. The time evolution of the expanding plasma was investigated in the framework of currently available phenomenological models. Mixed-propagation model gives an accurate description of the initial and late plasma expansion stages in Ar when proper input parameters are taken into account. In He, only the initial quasi-linear expansion and shock wave formation were observed along the space available to plasma motion.