Different mechanisms of cluster explosion within a unified smooth particle hydrodynamics Thomas-Fermi approach: Optical and short-wavelength regimes compared

The dynamics of small (<= 55 atoms) argon clusters ionized by an intense femtosecond laser pulse is studied using a time-dependent Thomas-Fermi model. The resulting Bloch-like hydrodynamic equations are solved numerically using the smooth particle hydrodynamics method without the necessity of grid simulations. As follows from recent experiments, absorption of radiation and subsequent ionization of clusters observed in the short-wavelength laser frequency regime (98 nm) differs considerably from that in the optical spectral range (800 nm). Our theoretical approach provides a unified framework for treating these very different frequency regimes and allows for a deeper understanding of the underlying cluster explosion mechanisms. The results of our analysis following from extensive numerical simulations presented in this paper are compared both with experimental findings and with predictions of other theoretical models.