On Influence of Hydrodynamic Instabilities upon Spectrum-Brightness Characteristics of Hypersonic Gas and Plasma Flows in Inert Gases

Results of study of the macrostructure of hypersonic gas and plasma flows in inert gases with high specific characteristics of energy contribution are given. These flows present powerful radiant and plasma-dynamical sources of short-wave radiation and strong shock waves. The application of methods of the laser diagnostics with the high space and time resolution has shown that at the gas-plasma contact boundary the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is developing which brings to the turbulent zone creation and to the considerable modification of spectrum-brightness characteristics of the peripheral region of the discharge, in particular, to the blooming of the region in vacuum ultraviolet and to the increase of the radiant emittance in the visible part of the spectrum.