Observing the onset of pressure-driven K-shell delocalization

Döppner, T.; Bethkenhagen, M.; Kraus, D.; Neumayer, P.; Chapman, D. A.; Bachmann, B.; Baggott, R. A.; Böhme, M. P.; Divol, L.; Falcone, R. W.; Fletcher, L. B.; Landen, O. L.; MacDonald, M. J.; Saunders, A. M.; Schörner, M.; Sterne, P. A.; Vorberger, J.; Witte, B. B. L.; Yi, A.; Redmer, R.; Glenzer, S. H.; Gericke, D. O.

doi:10.1038/s41586-023-05996-8

Title: Observing the onset of pressure-driven K-shell delocalization

Journal Article · 24 May 2023 · Nature (London)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05996-8 · OSTI ID:1989087

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Univ. of Rostock (Germany); École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France)
Univ. of Rostock (Germany); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Germany)
GSI-Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt (Germany)
First Light Fusion Ltd. (United Kingdom)
Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)
Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Germany); Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) (Germany); Technische Universität Dresden (Germany)
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Univ. of Rostock (Germany)
Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Germany)
Univ. of Rostock (Germany); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Univ. of Warwick, Coventry (United Kingdom)

The gravitational pressure in many astrophysical objects exceeds one gigabar (one billion atmospheres), creating extreme conditions where the distance between nuclei approaches the size of the K shell. This close proximity modifies these tightly bound states and, above a certain pressure, drives them into a delocalized state. Both processes substantially affect the equation of state and radiation transport and, therefore, the structure and evolution of these objects. Still, our understanding of this transition is far from satisfactory and experimental data are sparse. Here, in this work, we report on experiments that create and diagnose matter at pressures exceeding three gigabars at the National Ignition Facility where 184 laser beams imploded a beryllium shell. Bright X-ray flashes enable precision radiography and X-ray Thomson scattering that reveal both the macroscopic conditions and the microscopic states. The data show clear signs of quantum-degenerate electrons in states reaching 30 times compression, and a temperature of around two million kelvins. At the most extreme conditions, we observe strongly reduced elastic scattering, which mainly originates from K-shell electrons. We attribute this reduction to the onset of delocalization of the remaining K-shell electron. With this interpretation, the ion charge inferred from the scattering data agrees well with ab initio simulations, but it is significantly higher than widely used analytical models predict.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344; AC02-05CH11231; NA0003842; SC0021184; SC0018298; FEP 100182

OSTI ID:: 1989087

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-836995; 1056391; TRN: US2403890

Journal Information:: Nature (London), Vol. 618, Issue 7964; ISSN 0028-0836

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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