Direct observation of strong ion coupling in laser-driven shock-compressed targets

Imaging velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR) diagnostics for high energy density sciences

Two variants of optical imaging velocimetry, specifically the one-dimensional streaked line-imaging and the two-dimensional time-resolved area-imaging versions of the Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector (VISAR), have become important diagnostics in high energy density sciences, including inertial confinement fusion and dynamic compression of condensed matter. Here, we give a brief review of the historical development of these techniques, then describe the current implementations at major high energy density (HED) facilities worldwide, including the OMEGA Laser Facility and the National Ignition Facility. We illustrate the versatility and power of these techniques by reviewing diverse applications of imaging VISARs for gas-gun and laser-driven dynamic compression experiments for materials science, shock physics, condensed matter physics, chemical physics, plasma physics, planetary science and astronomy, as well as a broad range of HED experiments and laser-driven inertial confinement fusion research.

Ultrafast atomic view of laser-induced melting and breathing motion of metallic liquid clusters with MeV ultrafast electron diffraction

Intense lasers can be used to drive materials into transient states far from equilibrium. Investigations of such states and processes at the atomic scale are of fundamental significance in understanding a material’s behavior under extreme conditions. Herein, an ultrafast electron diffraction technique is used to track the atomic pathway of the entire melting process of aluminum and reveal a coherent breathing motion of polyhedral clusters in transient liquid aluminum at high temperature and high pressure. The negative expansion behavior of interatomic distances in a superheated liquid state upon heating is observed. These findings provide insight into ultrafast structural transformations and transient atomic dynamics under extreme conditions.

Under the irradiation of an ultrafast intense laser, solid materials can be driven into nonequilibrium states undergoing an ultrafast solid–liquid phase transition. Understanding such nonequilibrium states is essential for scientific research and industrial applications because they exist in various processes including laser fusion and laser machining yet challenging in the sense that high resolution and single-shot capability are required for the measurements. Herein, an ultrafast diffraction technique with megaelectron-volt (MeV) electrons is used to resolve the atomic pathway over the entire laser-induced ultrafast melting process, from the initial loss of long-range order and the formation of high-density liquid to the progressive evolution of short-range order and relaxation into the metastable low-density liquid state. High-resolution measurements using electron pulse compression and a time-stamping technique reveal a coherent breathing motion of polyhedral clusters in transient liquid aluminum during the ultrafast melting process, as indicated by the oscillation of the interatomic distance between the center atom and atoms in the nearest-neighbor shell. Furthermore, contraction of interatomic distance was observed in a superheated liquid state with temperatures up to 6,000 K. The results provide an atomic view of melting accompanied with internal pressure relaxation and are critical for understanding the structures and properties of matter under extreme conditions.

Structural characteristics of strongly coupled ions in a dense quantum plasma

The structural properties of strongly coupled ions in dense plasmas with moderately to strongly degenerate electrons are investigated in the framework of the one-component plasma model of ions interacting through a screened pair interaction potential. Special focus is put on the description of the electronic screening in the Singwi-Tosi-Land-Sjölander (STLS) approximation. Different cross-checks and analyses using ion potentials obtained from ground-state quantum Monte Carlo data, the random phase approximation (RPA), and existing analytical models are presented for the computation of the structural properties, such as the pair distribution and the static structure factor, of strongly coupled ions. The results are highly sensitive to the features of the screened pair interaction potential. This effect is particularly visible in the static structure factor. The applicability range of the screened potential computed from STLS is identified in terms of density and temperature of the electrons. It is demonstrated that at r_{s}>1, where r_{s} is the ratio of the mean interelectronic distance to the Bohr radius, electronic correlations beyond RPA have a nonnegligible effect on the structural properties. Additionally, the applicability of the hypernetted chain approximation for the calculation of the structural properties using the screened pair interaction potential is analyzed employing the effective coupling parameter approach.

Path integral Monte Carlo simulations of warm dense aluminum

We perform first-principles path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) and density functional theory molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) calculations to explore warm dense matter states of aluminum. Our equation of state (EOS) simulations cover a wide density-temperature range of 0.1-32.4gcm^{-3} and 10^{4}-10^{8} K. Since PIMC and DFT-MD accurately treat effects of the atomic shell structure, we find two compression maxima along the principal Hugoniot curve attributed to K-shell and L-shell ionization. The results provide a benchmark for widely used EOS tables, such as SESAME, QEOS, and models based on Thomas-Fermi and average-atom techniques. A subsequent multishock analysis provides a quantitative assessment for how much heating occurs relative to an isentrope in multishock experiments. Finally, we compute heat capacity, pair-correlation functions, the electronic density of states, and 〈Z〉 to reveal the evolution of the plasma structure and ionization behavior.

Observation of a strong-coupling effect on electron-ion collisions in ultracold plasmas

Ultracold plasmas (UCPs) provide a well-controlled system for studying multiple aspects in plasma physics that include collisions and strong-coupling effects. By applying a short electric field pulse to an UCP, a plasma electron center-of-mass oscillation can be initiated. For accessible parameter ranges, the damping rate of this oscillation is determined by the electron-ion collision rate. We performed measurements of the oscillation damping rate with such parameters and compared the measured rates to both a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation that includes strong-coupling effects and a Monte Carlo binary collision simulation designed to predict the damping rate including only weak-coupling considerations. We found agreement between the experimentally measured damping rate and the MD result. This agreement did require including the influence of a previously unreported UCP heating mechanism whereby the presence of a dc electric field during ionization increased the electron temperature, but estimations and simulations indicate that such a heating mechanism should be present for our parameters. The measured damping rate at our coldest electron temperature conditions was much faster than the weak-coupling prediction obtained from the Monte Carlo binary collision simulation, which indicates the presence of a significant strong-coupling influence. The density averaged electron strong-coupling parameter Γ measured at our coldest electron temperature conditions was 0.35(8).

Nonlinear acoustics at GHz frequencies in a viscoelastic fragile glass former

Using a picosecond pump-probe ultrasonic technique, we study the propagation of high-amplitude, laser-generated longitudinal coherent acoustic pulses in the viscoelastic fragile glass former DC704. We observe an increase of almost 10% in acoustic pulse propagation speed at the highest optical pump fluence which is a result of the supersonic nature of nonlinear propagation in the viscous medium. From our measurement, we deduce the nonlinear acoustic parameter of the glass former in the gigahertz frequency range across the glass transition temperature.

Reduced coupled-mode approach to electron-ion energy relaxation

We present a reduced model for the energy transfer via coupled collective modes in two-temperature plasmas based on quantum statistical theory. The model is compared with exact numerical evaluations of the coupled-mode (CM) energy transfer rate and with alternative reduced approaches over a range of conditions in the warm dense matter (WDM) and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) regimes. Our approach shows excellent agreement with an exact treatment of the CM rate and supports the importance of the coupled-mode effect for the temperature and energy relaxation in WDM and ICF plasmas. We find that electronic damping of collective ion density fluctuations is crucial for correctly describing the mode spectrum and, thus, the energy exchange. The reduced CM approach is studied over a wide parameter space, enabling us to establish its limits of applicability.

Hydrodynamic theory for ion structure and stopping power in quantum plasmas

We present a theory for the dynamical ion structure factor (DISF) and ion stopping power in an unmagnetized collisional quantum plasma with degenerate electron fluids and nondegenerate strongly correlated ion fluids. Our theory is based on the fluctuation dissipation theorem and the quantum plasma dielectric constant that is deduced from a linearized viscoelastic quantum hydrodynamical (LVQHD) model. The latter incorporates the essential physics of quantum forces, which are associated with the quantum statistical pressure, electron-exchange, and electron-correlation effects, the quantum electron recoil effect caused by the dispersion of overlapping electron wave functions that control the dynamics of degenerate electron fluids, and the viscoelastic properties of strongly correlated ion fluids. Both degenerate electrons and nondegenerate strongly correlated ions are coupled with each other via the space charge electric force. Thus, our LVQHD theory is valid for a collisional quantum plasma at atomic scales with a wide range of the ion coupling parameter, the plasma composition, and plasma number densities that are relevant for compressed plasmas in laboratories (inertial confinement fusion schemes) and in astrophysical environments (e.g., warm dense matter and the cores of white dwarf stars). It is found that quantum electron effects and viscoelastic properties of strongly correlated ions significantly affect the features of the DISF and the ion stopping power (ISP). Unlike previous theories, which have studied ion correlations in terms of the ion coupling parameter, by neglecting the essential physics of collective effects that are competing among each other, we have here developed a method to evaluate the dependence of the plasma static and dynamical features in terms of individual parameters, like the Wigner-Seitz radius, the ion atomic number, and the ion temperature. It is found that due to the complex nature of charge screening in quantum plasmas, the ion coupling parameter alone cannot be a good measure for determining ion correlation effects in a collisional quantum plasma, and such a characteristic of a dense quantum plasma should be evaluated against each of the plasma parameters involved. The present investigation thus provides testable predictions for the DISF and ISP and is henceforth applicable to a wide range of compressed plasma categories ranging from laboratory to astrophysical warm dense matter.

X-ray scattering measurements of strong ion-ion correlations in shock-compressed aluminum

The strong ion-ion correlation peak characteristic of warm dense matter (WDM) is observed for the first time using simultaneous angularly, temporally, and spectrally resolved x-ray scattering measurements in laser-driven shock-compressed aluminum. Laser-produced molybdenum x-ray line emission at an energy of 17.9 keV is employed to probe aluminum compressed to a density of ρ>8 g/cm(3). We observe a well pronounced peak in the static structure factor at a wave number of k=4.0 Å(-1). The measurements of the magnitude and position of this correlation peak are precise enough to test different theoretical models for the ion structure and show that only models taking the complex interaction in WDM into account agree with the data. This also demonstrates a new highly accurate diagnostic to directly measure the state of compression of warm dense matter.

Electronic structure investigation of highly compressed aluminum with K edge absorption spectroscopy

The electronic structure evolution of highly compressed aluminum has been investigated using time resolved K edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy. A long laser pulse (500 ps, I(L)≈8×10(13) W/cm(2)) was used to create a uniform shock. A second ps pulse (I(L)≈10(17)  W/cm(2)) generated an ultrashort broadband x-ray source near the Al K edge. The main target was designed to probe aluminum at reshocked conditions up to now unexplored (3 times the solid density and temperatures around 8 eV). The hydrodynamical conditions were obtained using rear side visible diagnostics. Data were compared to ab initio and dense plasma calculations, indicating potential improvements in either description. This comparison shows that x-ray-absorption near-edge structure measurements provide a unique capability to probe matter at these extreme conditions and severally constrains theoretical approaches currently used.

Energy relaxation in dense, strongly coupled two-temperature plasmas

A quantum kinetic approach for the energy relaxation in strongly coupled plasmas with different electron and ion temperatures is presented. Based on the density operator formalism, we derive a balance equation for the energies of electrons and ions connecting kinetic, correlation, and exchange energies with a quite general expression for the electron-ion energy-transfer rate. The latter is given in terms of the correlation function of density fluctuations which allows for a derivation of increasingly realistic approximation schemes including a coupled-mode expression. The equilibration of the contributions of the total energy including the species temperatures in dense hydrogen and beryllium relevant for inertial confinement fusion is investigated as an example.

Observation of ultrafast nonequilibrium collective dynamics in warm dense hydrogen

We investigate ultrafast (fs) electron dynamics in a liquid hydrogen sample, isochorically and volumetrically heated to a moderately coupled plasma state. Thomson scattering measurements using 91.8 eV photons from the free-electron laser in Hamburg (FLASH at DESY) show that the hydrogen plasma has been driven to a nonthermal state with an electron temperature of 13 eV and an ion temperature below 0.1 eV, while the free-electron density is 2.8x10{20} cm{-3}. For dense plasmas, our experimental data strongly support a nonequilibrium kinetics model that uses impact ionization cross sections based on classical free-electron collisions.

Evolution of elastic x-ray scattering in laser-shocked warm dense lithium

We have studied the dynamics of warm dense Li with near-elastic x-ray scattering. Li foils were heated and compressed using shock waves driven by 4-ns-long laser pulses. Separate 1-ns-long laser pulses were used to generate a bright source of 2.96 keV Cl Ly- alpha photons for x-ray scattering, and the spectrum of scattered photons was recorded at a scattering angle of 120 degrees using a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite crystal operated in the von Hamos geometry. A variable delay between the heater and backlighter laser beams measured the scattering time evolution. Comparison with radiation-hydrodynamics simulations shows that the plasma is highly coupled during the first several nanoseconds, then relaxes to a moderate coupling state at later times. Near-elastic scattering amplitudes have been successfully simulated using the screened one-component plasma model. Our main finding is that the near-elastic scattering amplitudes are quite sensitive to the mean ionization state Z[over ] and by extension to the choice of ionization model in the radiation-hydrodynamics simulations used to predict plasma properties within the shocked Li.

Measurement of short-range correlations in shock-compressed plastic by short-pulse x-ray scattering

We have performed short-pulse x-ray scattering measurements on laser-driven shock-compressed plastic samples in the warm dense matter regime, providing instantaneous snapshots of the system evolution. Time-resolved and angularly resolved scattered spectra sensitive to the correlation effects in the plasma show the appearance of short-range order within a few interionic separations. Comparison with radiation-hydrodynamic simulations indicates that the shocked plastic is compressed with a temperature of a few electron volts. These results are important for the understanding of the thermodynamic behavior of strongly correlated matter for conditions relevant to both laboratory astrophysics and inertial confinement fusion research.

X-ray Thomson-scattering measurements of density and temperature in shock-compressed beryllium

We present the first x-ray scattering measurements of the state of compression and heating in laser irradiated solid beryllium. The scattered spectra at two different angles show Compton and plasmon features indicating a dense Fermi-degenerate plasma state with a Fermi energy above 30 eV and with temperatures in the range of 10-15 eV. These measurements indicate compression by a factor of 3 in agreement with Hugoniot data and detailed radiation-hydrodynamic modeling.

Structure of strongly coupled multicomponent plasmas

We investigate the short-range structure in strongly coupled fluidlike plasmas using the hypernetted chain approach generalized to multicomponent systems. Good agreement with numerical simulations validates this method for the parameters considered. We found a strong mutual impact on the spatial arrangement for systems with multiple ion species which is most clearly pronounced in the static structure factor. Quantum pseudopotentials were used to mimic diffraction and exchange effects in dense electron-ion systems. We demonstrate that the different kinds of pseudopotentials proposed lead to large differences in both the pair distributions and structure factors. Large discrepancies were also found in the predicted ion feature of the x-ray scattering signal, illustrating the need for comparison with full quantum calculations or experimental verification.