Temporal structure of X-ray radiation pulses of picosecond laser plasma

The shape of the X-ray pulse generated by picosecond laser plasma is experimentally studied. The unusual phenomenon was experimentally observed for the first time for targets made of moderate-heavy chemical elements, namely, the pulse of hard X-ray radiation generated by laser plasma at the laser radiation flux of ~10¹⁸ W cm^-2 had a longer duration than the pulse of softer X-ray radiation. A simple kinetic model is suggested for explaining this fact. We have suggested a method for controlling the temporal shape of X-ray pulse emitted by laser plasma by varying the contrast of laser pulse.