This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period October-December 1991, contains articles on the analysis of argon-filled target experiments, and a theoretical analysis of the impact of nonlocal heat transport in laser filamentation in plasmas. In the Advanced Technology section there is an article on mechanisms that affect thin-film conductivity, and a report on the gain characteristics of the 20-cm SSA prototype amplifier to be used in the OMEGA Upgrade. Finally, the activities of the National Laser Users Facility and the GDL and OMEGA laser facilities are summarized. Highlights of the research reported in this issue are: argon radiation from argon-filled, polymer-shell targets is used as a core-temperature diagnostic and density diagnostic of the surrounding region in a regime where the argon line radiation is strongly absorbed. A theoretical analysis of the impact of nonlocal heat transport on laser filamentation in plasmas is developed. The resulting model is compared with experimental observations and the implications for ICF are discussed. A study of thermal conductivity in thin films seeks to identify mechanisms that result in degradation of thin-film conductivity. Identifying these mechanisms can lead to changes in the thin-film manufacture that will improve their resistance to laser damage.

This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period April--June 1990, contains articles in two main sections, Progress in Laser Fusion and Advanced Technology Developments. The first article presents the theoretical interpretation of the glass-ablator cryogenic-implosion experiments recently conducted on OMEGA. It is followed by an article describing the analysis of neutron time-of-flight data taken during DT and DD experiments; and a discussion of the improvements to laser diagnostics that now provide for precise control of the OMEGA laser is given. This paper contains a report on the development of transparent conductive coatings for KDP crystals, and a discussion of the study of the transient-surface Debye-Waller effect in materials irradiated with an ultrafast laser.