Electron-ion equilibration in ultrafast heated graphite.

We have employed fast electrons produced by intense laser illumination to isochorically heat thermal electrons in solid density carbon to temperatures of ∼10,000 K. Using time-resolved x-ray diffraction, the temperature evolution of the lattice ions is obtained through the Debye-Waller effect, and this directly relates to the electron-ion equilibration rate. This is shown to be considerably lower than predicted from ideal plasma models. We attribute this to strong ion coupling screening the electron-ion interaction.

Orbital-free density-functional theory simulations of the dynamic structure factor of warm dense aluminum.

Here, we report orbital-free density-functional theory (OF DFT) molecular dynamics simulations of the dynamic ion structure factor of warm solid density aluminum at T=0.5 eV and T=5 eV. We validate the OF DFT method in the warm dense matter regime through comparison of the static and thermodynamic properties with the more complete Kohn-Sham DFT. This extension of OF DFT to dynamic properties indicates that previously used models based on classical molecular dynamics may be inadequate to capture fully the low frequency dynamics of the response function.

Observations of the effect of ionization-potential depression in hot dense plasma.

The newly commissioned Orion laser system has been used to study dense plasmas created by a combination of short pulse laser heating and compression by laser driven shocks. Thus the plasma density was systematically varied between 1 and 10 g/cc by using aluminum samples buried in plastic foils or diamond sheets. The aluminum was heated to electron temperatures between 500 and 700 eV allowing the plasma conditions to be diagnosed by K-shell emission spectroscopy. The K-shell spectra show the effect of the ionization potential depression as a function of density. The data are compared to simulated spectra which account for the change in the ionization potential by the commonly used Stewart and Pyatt prescription and an alternative due to Ecker and Kröll suggested by recent x-ray free-electron laser experiments. The experimental data are in closer agreement with simulations using the model of Stewart and Pyatt.

Observation of inhibited electron-ion coupling in strongly heated graphite.

Creating non-equilibrium states of matter with highly unequal electron and lattice temperatures (T(ele)≠T(ion)) allows unsurpassed insight into the dynamic coupling between electrons and ions through time-resolved energy relaxation measurements. Recent studies on low-temperature laser-heated graphite suggest a complex energy exchange when compared to other materials. To avoid problems related to surface preparation, crystal quality and poor understanding of the energy deposition and transport mechanisms, we apply a different energy deposition mechanism, via laser-accelerated protons, to isochorically and non-radiatively heat macroscopic graphite samples up to temperatures close to the melting threshold. Using time-resolved x ray diffraction, we show clear evidence of a very small electron-ion energy transfer, yielding approximately three times longer relaxation times than previously reported. This is indicative of the existence of an energy transfer bottleneck in non-equilibrium warm dense matter.