Improved modeling of M-band emission from laser illuminated gold spheres

At past APS/DPP meetings we have reported on the modeling of experiments performed at the URLLE Omega laser, that directly illuminated gold spheres. Emphasis has been placed on comparing simulated predictions with measured x-ray emission, both in the sub-KeV "thermal" emission, and in the 1.8 to 3 keV "M-band" emission. We used a DCA non-LTE atomic physics model. While agreement in the thermal part has been good, the simulations typically over-predict the M-band emission by close to a factor of two! We have developed new non-LTE DCA models that use modified autoionization rates to better match charge state distributions produced by more sophisticated models, and that lower the collisional excitation rates to better agree with recently published data. Together these two adjustments result in a new model that correctly predicts M-band emission.