X-ray Thomson scattering in high energy density plasmas

Journal Article · Thu Oct 15 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Reviews of Modern Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/REVMODPHYS.81.1625· OSTI ID:22038473

Glenzer, Siegfried H; Redmer, Ronald ^[1]

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1. L-399, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551 (United States)

Accurate x-ray scattering techniques to measure the physical properties of dense plasmas have been developed for applications in high energy density physics. This class of experiments produces short-lived hot dense states of matter with electron densities in the range of solid density and higher where powerful penetrating x-ray sources have become available for probing. Experiments have employed laser-based x-ray sources that provide sufficient photon numbers in narrow bandwidth spectral lines, allowing spectrally resolved x-ray scattering measurements from these plasmas. The backscattering spectrum accesses the noncollective Compton scattering regime which provides accurate diagnostic information on the temperature, density, and ionization state. The forward scattering spectrum has been shown to measure the collective plasmon oscillations. Besides extracting the standard plasma parameters, density and temperature, forward scattering yields new observables such as a direct measure of collisions and quantum effects. Dense matter theory relates scattering spectra with the dielectric function and structure factors that determine the physical properties of matter. Applications to radiation-heated and shock-compressed matter have demonstrated accurate measurements of compression and heating with up to picosecond temporal resolution. The ongoing development of suitable x-ray sources and facilities will enable experiments in a wide range of research areas including inertial confinement fusion, radiation hydrodynamics, material science, or laboratory astrophysics.

• OSTI ID: 22038473
• Journal Information: Reviews of Modern Physics, Journal Name: Reviews of Modern Physics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 81; ISSN 0034-6861; ISSN RMPHAT
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
BACKSCATTERING
COMPTON EFFECT
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
ELECTRON DENSITY
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
ENERGY DENSITY
HYDRODYNAMICS
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
ION TEMPERATURE
IONIZATION
OSCILLATIONS
PLASMA
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA WAVES
PLASMONS
STRUCTURE FACTORS
THOMSON SCATTERING
X RADIATION
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
X-RAY SOURCES