Subsonic radiation waves propagating from a target toward the source of CO2 laser radiation

A theoretical investigation is made of the propagation of a planar plasma front from a target toward the source of CO₂ laser radiation. The characteristics of subsonic radiation waves are determined for various power densities of the incident radiation and various initial densities of air. It is shown that a plasma layer emits strongly in the visible and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum. The situations obtained in the case of interaction of a target with neodymium and CO₂ laser radiations are compared.