X-UV Index of Refraction of Dense and Hot Plasmas

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Benattar, R. | Galos, C. | Ney, P.

Affiliations: Laboratoire de Physique des Milieux Ionisés (LPMI), Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France

Abstract: In a dense and hot plasma the refractive index in the X-UV range takes into account not only the effect of free electrons, but also the effect of electrons bound by atoms. The refractive index is calculated by the Kramer-Kronig relations using the total opacity of the medium including bound-bound, free-bound, and free-free atomic transitions. A simple method of calculation of the emission and absorption coefficients is presented. These parameters are of great interest when one wants to study radiative transfer in a dense and hot material. The computer program used allows one to obtain either in LTE or in NLTE the values of these coefficients for every material and for a wide range of mass density and temperature, using a screened hydrogenic model. Applications are presented first to generate opacity tables and second to generate the index of refraction of aluminum for a wide range of mass density and temperature.

DOI: 10.3233/XST-1995-5301

Journal: Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 249-260, 1995