title: Ultrafast x-ray Thomson scattering of shock-compressed matter.
abstract: Spectrally resolved scattering of ultrafast K-alpha x-rays has provided experimental validation of the modeling of the compression and heating of shocked matter. The elastic scattering component has characterized the evolution and coalescence of two shocks launched by a nanosecond laser pulse into lithium hydride with an unprecedented temporal resolution of 10 picoseconds. At shock coalescence, we observed rapid heating to temperatures of 25,000 kelvin when the scattering spectra show the collective plasmon oscillations that indicate the transition to the dense metallic plasma state. The plasmon frequency determines the material compression, which is found to be a factor of 3, thereby reaching conditions in the laboratory relevant for studying the physics of planetary formation.
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Engineering Department, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA. kritcher@berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Andrea L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kritcher
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Neumayer
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Castor
authors.forename: Tilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Döppner
authors.forename: Roger W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Falcone
authors.forename: Otto L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Landen
authors.forename: Hae Ja
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Edward C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Morse
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pollaine
authors.forename: Dwight
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Siegfried H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Glenzer