ABSTRACT
A diagnostic capable of recording spatially and temporally resolved x-ray self-emission data was developed to characterize experiments on the MAGPIE pulsed-power generator. The diagnostic used two separate imaging systems: a pinhole imaging system with two-dimensional spatial resolution and a slit imaging system with one-dimensional spatial resolution. The two-dimensional imaging system imaged light onto the image plate. The one-dimensional imaging system imaged light onto the same piece of image plate and a linear array of silicon photodiodes. This design allowed the cross-comparison of different images, allowing a picture of the spatial and temporal distribution of x-ray self-emission to be established. The design was tested in a series of pulsed-power-driven magnetic-reconnection experiments.
ABSTRACT
Understanding Warm Dense Matter (WDM), the state of planetary interiors, is a new frontier in scientific research. There exists very little experimental data probing WDM states at the atomic level to test current models and those performed up to now are limited in quality. Here, we report a proof-of-principle experiment that makes microscopic investigations of materials under dynamic compression easily accessible to users and with data quality close to that achievable at ambient. Using a single 100 ps synchrotron x-ray pulse, we have measured, by K-edge absorption spectroscopy, ns-lived equilibrium states of WDM Fe. Structural and electronic changes in Fe are clearly observed for the first time at such extreme conditions. The amplitude of the EXAFS oscillations persists up to 500 GPa and 17000 K, suggesting an enduring local order. Moreover, a discrepancy exists with respect to theoretical calculations in the value of the energy shift of the absorption onset and so this comparison should help to refine the approximations used in models.
