A simple method to verify the opacity and equation of state of high-Z plasmas

Accurate opacity and equation of state (EOS) data are important parameters for reliable modeling and understanding many phenomena of high energy density physics. However, they are difficult to obtain either theoretically or experimentally especially for high-Z plasmas. In this paper, we proposed a simple method to verify the opacity and EOS of high-Z plasmas in rarefactive states, which is build on the two key aspects of ablation processes, i.e., the propagation of heatwave into materials and the hydrodynamic expansion of the blow-off plasmas. Based on the integrated analysis of the Au foil burnthrough and foam-confined plasma expansion experiments performed on the Shenguang II and Shenguang III prototype laser facilities, we suggested two semi-empirical multipliers to adjust the opacity and EOS of Au plasma. These adjusted opacity and EOS may then provide a foundation for other radiation hydrodynamic simulations under similar drive conditions. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.