2.C Effects of Non-Maxwellian Electron Populations in Non-LTE Simulations of Laser-Plasma Thermal Transport and Implosion Experiments

Spectrally and spatially resolved x rays are widely used diagnostics for high-temperature plasmas in laser-driven experiments. The relatively small time scales and small optical depths that occur often require a non-LTE (local thermodynamic equilibrium) analysis of atomic phenomena, and the relatively long mean free path of the most energetic electrons can make non-Maxwellian electron energy distributions relevant to the interpretation of the diagnostic signals. Just as deviations from a Planck photon spectrum occur in radiative transfer problems when photon optical depths are comparable to configurational scale lengths, small deviations from Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) electron distributions can occur in small, transient laser-driven plasmas.