Development of spatially and temporally resolved electron density measurements for the assessment of radiation hydrodynamics simulations of laboratory X-ray photoionized plasmas

Abstract

The photoionized plasma gas cell experiment is an established platform we use to make at-parameter ($\xi >>1{\mathrm{ergs\; cm\; s}}^{-1}$) measurements of plasma properties with application to high-energy astrophysical systems. We model the experiments with 1D radiation hydrodynamics simulations using the HELIOS-CR code to inform our understanding and assist in the interpretation of results. The simulations predict that the bulk of the plasma is in a quasi-uniform and hydrodynamically unperturbed state throughout the duration of the experiment. To evaluate this prediction, we introduced a photonic Doppler velocimetry (PDV) diagnostic to measure spatially and temporally resolved plasma electron density. The initial measurements were successful but had limitations that made model-data comparisons challenging. To address this, we re-designed the gas cell PDV diagnostic and doubled the number of measurement locations to sample across two thirds of the depth of the cell. We also present a comparison of the results from the upgraded PDV diagnostic to the HELIOS-CR simulations for the first time. The experimental data confirms the prediction of an unperturbed region in the bulk of the plasma but reveals discrepancies in the time evolution and spatial distribution of the simulated electron density.