Slow combustion of laser plasma and optical charges

Laser plasma is investigated in the region of moderate lasing intensities, where the electron heating rate in the radiation field is usually slower than the rate At which electrons lose energy, and the electron-ion relaxation rate. Slow laser plasma combustion is detected, in which an optical discharge plasma is maintained at minimum threshold intensity levels for the optical band, with subsonic propagation of the plasma and thermal ionization of the matter a the front of the dicharge in the maintaining radiation field. the process of subsonic propagation of a slow combustion wave of laser plasma is interpreted theoretically. Steady-state unidimensional propagation of a plane wavefront in a collimated laser beam is achieved, and new methods are developed for diagnosing gas motion in the region of subsonic optical discharge. A new method is developed for diagnosing a hot gas (plasma) on a target by measuring the parameters of the plasma near the front of the shockwave. A neodymium glass laser is developed which employs reflecting plasma as a nonlinear mirror in the optical cavity, and also as an optical shutter.