Using X-ray Thomson Scattering to Characterize Highly Compressed, Near-Degenerate Plasmas at the NIF

ORAL

Abstract

We are developing x-ray Thomson scattering for implosion experiments at the National Ignition Facility to characterize plasma conditions in plastic and beryllium capsules near stagnation, reaching more than 20x compression and electron densities of 10$^{25}$ cm$^{-3}$, corresponding to a Fermi energy of 170 eV. Using a zinc He-$\alpha$ x-ray source at 9 keV, experiments at a large scattering angle of 120$^{\circ}$ measure non-collective scattering spectra with high sensitivity to K-shell ionization, and find higher charge states than predicted by widely used ionization models. Reducing the scattering angle to 30$^{\circ}$ probes the collective scattering regime with sensitivity to collisions and conductivity. We will discuss recent results and future plans.

*This work was performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

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Authors

  • Tilo Doeppner

    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab
    • LLNL
    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    • Livermore National Laboratory

  • D. Kraus

    • Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
    • HZDR Dresden

  • P. Neumayer

    • GSI Darmstadt

  • Benjamin Bachmann

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab

  • L. Divol

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • A.L. Kritcher

    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab
    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • Otto Landen

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab

  • L. Fletcher

    • SLAC - Natl Accelerator Lab
    • SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

  • S.H. Glenzer

    • SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
    • SLAC

  • R.W. Falcone

    • University of California Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley

  • M.J. MacDonald

    • University of California Berkeley
    • Univ Calif at Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley

  • A. Saunders

    • University of California Berkeley
    • UC Berkeley

  • B. Witte

    • University of Rostock

  • R. Redmer

    • University of Rostock

  • D. Chapman

    • University of Warwick

  • R. Baggott

    • University of Warwick

  • D.O. Gericke

    • University of Warwick

  • AS Yi

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory
    • Los Alamos National Lab
    • LANL