Interaction of intense ultrashort pulse lasers with clusters

The dynamics of clusters composed of different material irradiated by a high-intensity ultrashort pulse laser was studied using a fully relativistic three-dimensional molecular dynamics model. Key parameters of the cluster evolution such as particle positions, energy absorption, and cluster explosion were simulated. By a direct comparison of these parameters for clusters of equal initial radius but made of different material (deuterium, neon, argon, and xenon), the main stages and attributes of cluster evolution were elucidated. The simulations showed that clusters made of different material act alike, especially those of heavy elements. Clusters made of heavy elements (neon, argon, and xenon) differentiate from clusters made of light elements (deuterium) by the magnitude of the absorbed energy per cluster and the final mean energy of exploding ions. What most distinguishes clusters composed of different material is the amount of emitted radiation and its spectral range. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.