Frontiers of the physics of dense plasmas and planetary interiors: Experiments, theory, and applications

Journal Article · Wed Apr 15 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3101818· OSTI ID:21276967

Fortney, J J ^[1]; Glenzer, S H ^[2]; Koenig, M ^[3]; Militzer, B ^[4]; Saumon, D ^[5]; Valencia, D ^[6]

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1. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz 95064, California (United States)
2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, L-399, Livermore, California 94551 (United States)
3. Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, UMR7605, CNRS-CEA-Universite Paris-VI, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex (France)
4. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
5. Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, MS F663, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)
6. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)

Recent developments of dynamic x-ray characterization experiments of dense matter are reviewed, with particular emphasis on conditions relevant to interiors of terrestrial and gas giant planets. These studies include characterization of compressed states of matter in light elements by x-ray scattering and imaging of shocked iron by radiography. Several applications of this work are examined. These include the structure of massive ''super-Earth'' terrestrial planets around other stars, the 40 known extrasolar gas giants with measured masses and radii, and Jupiter itself, which serves as the benchmark for giant planets.

• OSTI ID: 21276967
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 16; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ASTROPHYSICS
BENCHMARKS
JUPITER PLANET
PLASMA
PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS
STARS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION