CRASH Simulations of a Radiative Shock Experiment Using the ZEUS Laser

The ZEUS laser at the University of Michigan was developed to investigate non-linear quantum electrodynamics in relativistic plasmas. It also has a long pulse laser, which can be used to drive shocks is a radiative environment and use the short pulse laser to create a betatron source for imaging. This study uses CRASH, a radiation-hydrodynamics code developed at the University of Michigan to model radiative shocks, to design and optimize an experimental platform for ZEUS. We show the initial result of our design study driving a shock in gasses of different densities and opacities to explore the dynamics of both radiative and non-radiative shocks.