Application of Laser Simulation Method for the Analysis of Crater Formation Experiment on PALS Laser

The crater formation process is studied in the “laser - Al solid target” interactions on the PALS iodine laser facility. A great variety of laser beam parameters are used to irradiate massive aluminium targets. Large laser energies available (up to 600 J) open a possibility to investigate the process of crater formation for physical conditions different from the earlier studies for the lower laser energies. Comparison with the earlier results is presented.A simple theory, LSM (laser simulation method), has been applied for the analysis of the experimental results. This model leads to a universal relation (scaling law) for the crater relative volume. Our work extends the study of crater formation to the “virtual” macroparticle velocities exceeding 100 km/s. The scaling law is derived here for this previously unexplored region. An alternative method of studying crater formation is also proposed.