The effect of non-Maxwellian electron distributions on the intensity ratio of resonance to satellite lines

Non-Maxwellian electron distributions in laser plasmas of density lower than the so-called critical density, that is where the laser beam penetrates the plasma and the inverse bremsstrahlung heating disturbs the electron distribution from its Maxwellian situation are discussed. Inverse bremsstrahlung and the competing thermalization through electron-electron collisions are the dominant processes in the plasma. The temperature diagnostic based on the ratio of the resonance to the satellite lines is considered. We are now investigating how this line intensity ratio is affected by a non-Maxwellian character of the plasma, and we will show preliminary results obtained for plasmas at low densities. We are working on other aspects of non-Maxwellian plasmas, such as ionic populations, but we present here only the issues which lead to discussions and interactions at this workshop.