OBSERVATIONS OF LASER-BEAM BENDING DUE TO TRANSVERSE PLASMA FLOW

Interferometric measurements of laser-produced channels in preformed plasmas show that in the presence of transverse plasma flow, the beam is deflected when the transverse flow velocity is near the sound speed. For a line focus with peak intensity of 1.5{times}10{sup 15} W/cm {sup 2} , a beam deflection of 10{degree} is observed, which agrees well with the results of a three-dimensional hydrodynamics code. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}