X-ray transmission calculations for an aluminum plasma

Computer programs developed recently at Los Alamos have been used to calculate the transmission of x rays through an aluminum plasma. Theoretical energy levels, oscillator strengths, and photoionization cross sections were combined with the local thermodynamic equilibrium population model to calculate the plasma absorption coefficient as a function of photon energy. The transmission spectrum is simulated by accounting for the plasma depth and spectrometer characteristics. These results are compared to spectra observed during recent experiments; excellent agreement is obtained.