Calculation of the radiative opacity of laser-produced plasmas using a relativistic-screened hydrogenic model

Abstract

n this work, we use a relativistic-screened hydrogenic model to compute the radiative opacity of laser-produced plasmas. The model is based on a set of screening charges which allow one to easily calculate atomic properties of isolated ions. These screened charges have been fitted to a fourth-order polynomial depending on the nuclear charge Z for ground and single excited states of ions belonging to the isoelectronic sequences comprised between He-like to U-like. In the opacity model used, ionic populations are obtained by solving the Saha equation including degeneracy corrections. Bound–bound transitions are determined using a Voigt profile for line shape, which includes natural, collisional, Doppler and UTA widths. Bound–free and free–free opacities are evaluated using the Kramer cross-sections with appropriate corrections. Scattering processes are computed through the use of the Thomson formula with corrections. The results are compared with other screened hydrogenic models and more sophisticated self-consistent codes.