Simulation of emission spectra from nonuniform reactive laser-induced plasmas.We demonstrate that chemical reactions leading to the formation of AlO radicals in plasmas produced by ablation of aluminum or Ti-sapphire with ultraviolet nanosecond laser pulses can be predicted by the model of local thermodynamic equilibrium.  Furthermore, chemical reactions exclusively occur in the cold plume periphery for ablation in air.  Finally, the validity of local thermodynamic equilibrium is shown to depend on time, space, and on the elemental composition. 
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