Determination of the transport and optical properties of a nonideal solid-density plasma produced by femtosecond laser pulses

Experimental data on the amplitude and phase of the complex reflection coefficient of a laser pulse from a non-ideal solid-density plasma, which is produced on the surface of a metallic target by intense femtosecond laser radiation, have been obtained using femtosecond interference microscopy. A theoretical model developed for the interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with solid targets on the basis of the two-temperature equation of state for an irradiated substance allows the description of the dynamics of the formation and scattering of the plasma. Comparison of the experimental data with the simulation results provides new information on the transport coefficients and absorption capacity of the nonideal plasma.