Measurements of Enhanced Stopping of 1-MeV Deuterons in Target-Ablation Plasmas

Enhancement of the energy loss of 1-MeV deuterons in target-ablation plasmas over that in cold targets has been observed when signficant ionization is present in the plasma. Scaling of enhanced stopping with target ionization is consistent with stopping by free electrons and the remaining bound electrons. Measured energy losses for Mylar and aluminum targets are also in agreement with hydrocode calculations.