Angular filter refractometry analysis using simulated annealing

Angular filter refractometry (AFR) is a novel technique used to characterize the density profiles of laser-produced, long-scale-length plasmas [Haberberger et al., Phys. Plasmas 21, 056304 (2014)]. A new method of analysis for AFR images was developed using an annealing algorithm to iteratively converge upon a solution. A synthetic AFR image is constructed by a user-defined density profile described by eight parameters, and the algorithm systematically alters the parameters until the comparison is optimized. The optimization and statistical uncertainty calculation is based on the minimization of the χ² test statistic. The algorithm was successfully applied to experimental data of plasma expanding from a flat, laser-irradiated target, resulting in an average uncertainty in the density profile of 5%-20% in the region of interest.