Dependence of the compression ratio of a spherical target on the temporal shape and duration of a laser pulse

Calculations are made of the compression ratio of the plasma of the simplest type of a shell target exposed to a laser pulse whose power increases with time in accordance with a power law and whose duration is shorter than the shell implosion time. It is found that as the exponent in the law describing the increase in the laser pulse power rises the entropy coupled into the compressed target material by the shock wave during motion of the shell decreases and consequently the final plasma density increases.