Photo-ionised plasmas are frequently associated with accretion-powered astrophysical objects such as binary stars and black holes. The radiation fields of these astrophysical objects are such that photoexcitation and ionisation rates are relatively high compared to electron collisional excitation and ionisation rates. As large x-ray fluxes are required to achieve high values of the photoionisation parameter ξ, which characterises the distribution of ionisation, large laser facilities must be used to generate the extremely intense, nanosecond x-ray sources needed to drive the plasmas. 

My research will attempt to create photo-ionised plasmas in the laboratory, analyse their emission against computer models which usually model the emissions from astrophysical objects in order to produce a laboratory benchmark for photo-ionised plasmas under well-defined conditions.

• Plasmas
• Astrophysics
• X-Ray Spectroscopy