Abstract
When an intense laser light passes through a plasma, a small fraction of it is scattered by free electrons. Measurements of the intensity and the spectral distribution of the scattered light from the shocked plasma has been used to determine the electron density and the electron temperature behind the reflected shock waves. Rayleigh scattering signal from one atmospheric pressure air was used as.a measure to evaluate the magnitude of Thomson scattering signal from the shocked plasm, In our experiments the electron densities behind the reflected shock wave at initial pressure of Ar 1 mmHg were determined as. about 1016 cm-3, which were in good agreement with a calculated value by shock theory. By assuming a plasma parameter α=0.85, theoretical curve accords very well with the measured spectral distribution of the scattered light. In this case the electron, temperature behind the refledted shock wave at initial pressure of Ar 0.4 mmHg was 23, 000oK.
