Temperature profiles derived from transverse optical shadowgraphy in ultraintense laser plasma interactions at 6x10(20) W cm(-2)

A variety of targets with different dimensions and materials was irradiated using the VULCAN PW laser [C. N. Danson , Nucl. Fusion 44, S239 (2004)]. Using transverse optical shadowgraphy in conjunction with a one-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics code it was possible to determine a longitudinal temperature gradient. It was demonstrated for thick targets with a low Z substrate and a thin higher Z tracer layer at the rear that the boundary between the two materials was Rayleigh-Taylor unstable. By including a simple bubble growth model into the calculations it was possible to correct for the associated behavior with regard to temperature. The resulting temperature gradient was in good agreement with the previously published data using two different methods of determining the temperature.