Investigation of the optical characteristics of a laser-produced plasma cloud expanding into a background gas

An investigation is made of the dynamics and visible-range luminosity of the plasma cloud produced behind the front of a shock wave in air at a pressure of 1 Torr. The shock wave was produced on introducing the radiation of the twelve-channel Iskra-5 laser facility with a total energy of ~2300 J into a hollow spherical plastic target of mass ~10-4 g. Experimental data are compared with simulations.