On measurements of stopping power in explosively driven plasma targets

A new method to generate plasma targets with electron densities n_e ≥ 10²⁰ cm^-3 behind strong shock waves to study the energy loss of protons and heavy ions is discussed. Estimates on the stopping power in hydrogen, xenon and argon were carried out. It is shown that shock velocities of more than 20 km/s in xenon and argon and of more than 60 km/s in hydrogen are needed to get a major contribution of free electrons. The problems of matching of large scale accelerator facility and explosive technique are considered. It is suggested to use a small (< 150 g TNT) vacuum pumped explosive metallic chambers with fast valves in such experiments. Details on the construction and performance of small-sized explosively driven generators of strong shock waves are presented. The experimental setup including the proton accelerator ISTRA-36 and the explosive chamber, which have been installed in ITEP, is also presented.