Deceleration dynamics of thin foils in a xenon atmosphere

The objective of the study is to determine experimentally the mass of a moving thin foil from its deceleration dynamics in a gas with a known equation of state. First, the nonstationary problem of the motion of a thin foil in a xenon atmosphere due to ablative acceleration by laser radiation is solved numerically to demonstrate the applicability of the quasi-stationary approximation. Experimental results are then reported for the deceleration of thin (5-12 microns) foils of polyethylene therephthalate accelerated by laser radiation inside a 1-mm-diameter cylindrical channel filled by xenon. An empirical expression is obtained relating the evaporated mass of the foil to the intensity of laser radiation.