On the importance of damping phenomena in clusters irradiated by intense laser fields

We study the dynamics of large clusters irradiated by intense and short laser pulses, within the framework of the nanoplasma model. Particular attention is paid to the influence of electron–surface collisions, which have not been considered in previous versions of the model. We show that they dominate inverse bremsstrahlung collisions when plasmon resonance occurs. The dynamics of the cluster changes considerably and the predictions of the model are significantly modified. Moreover, there is no evidence for the presence of highly charged ions and the hydrodynamic pressure is found to be smaller than the Coulomb one.