Effect of the electronic structure of target atomson the emission continuum of laser plasma

The low-temperature laser plasma at the surface of metal targets is experimentally investigated. Continuous spectra emitted from a laser plume are found to be similar for targets consisting of the elements of the same subgroup of the Mendeleev periodic table. The similarity manifests itself both in the dependence of the emission intensity on the external pressure and in the structure of absorption bands related to a fine-dispersed phase existing in the peripheral regions of the plume.