@article{1bf72012b60a409ab32accee05ba39be,
title = "Creation and diagnosis of a solid-density plasma with an X-ray free-electron laser",
abstract = "Matter with a high energy density (>10 5-joules per cm 3) is prevalent throughout the Universe, being present in all types of stars and towards the centre of the giant planets; it is also relevant for inertial confinement fusion. Its thermodynamic and transport properties are challenging to measure, requiring the creation of sufficiently long-lived samples at homogeneous temperatures and densities. With the advent of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser, high-intensity radiation (>10 17-watts per cm 2, previously the domain of optical lasers) can be produced at X-ray wavelengths. The interaction of single atoms with such intense X-rays has recently been investigated. An understanding of the contrasting case of intense X-ray interaction with dense systems is important from a fundamental viewpoint and for applications. Here we report the experimental creation of a solid-density plasma at temperatures in excess of 10 6 kelvin on inertial-confinement timescales using an X-ray free-electron laser. We discuss the pertinent physics of the intense X-ray-matter interactions, and illustrate the importance of electron-ion collisions. Detailed simulations of the interaction process conducted with a radiative-collisional code show good qualitative agreement with the experimental results. We obtain insights into the evolution of the charge state distribution of the system, the electron density and temperature, and the timescales of collisional processes. Our results should inform future high-intensity X-ray experiments involving dense samples, such as X-ray diffractive imaging of biological systems, material science investigations, and the study of matter in extreme conditions.",
author = "Vinko, {S. M.} and O. Ciricosta and Cho, {B. I.} and K. Engelhorn and Chung, {H. K.} and Brown, {C. R.D.} and T. Burian and J. Chalups{\'y} and Falcone, {R. W.} and C. Graves and V. H{\'a}jkov{\'a} and A. Higginbotham and L. Juha and J. Krzywinski and Lee, {H. J.} and M. Messerschmidt and Murphy, {C. D.} and Y. Ping and A. Scherz and W. Schlotter and S. Toleikis and Turner, {J. J.} and L. Vysin and T. Wang and B. Wu and U. Zastrau and D. Zhu and Lee, {R. W.} and Heimann, {P. A.} and B. Nagler and Wark, {J. S.}",
note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgements Portions of this research were carried out on the SXR instrument at the LCLS, a division of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and an Office of Science user facility operated by Stanford University for the US Department of Energy. The SXR instrument and the Resonant Coherent Imaging (RCI) endstation are funded by a consortium whose membership includes the LCLS, Stanford University through the Stanford Institute for Materials Energy Sciences (SIMES), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), University of Hamburg through the BMBF priority programme FSP 301, and the Center for Free Electron Laser Science (CFEL). S.M.V., O.C. and J.S.W. thank the UK EPSRC for funding (EP/F020449/1 and EP/H035877/1). B.I.C., K.E., R.W.F. and P.A.H. acknowledge US DOE Basic Energy Science contract DE-AC03-76SF00098 and SSAA programme contract DE-FG52-06NA26212. T.B., J.C., L.J. and L.V. appreciate fundingbygrants LC510,LC528,LA08024,ME10046,P108/11/1312,P205/11/0571, IAAX00100903 and KAN300100702. U.Z. thanks the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) for funding under FSP 301. C.D.M. was supported by UK EPSRC (EP/G007187/1). We also thank G. Gregori (Oxford University) for discussions.",
year = "2012",
month = feb,
day = "2",
doi = "10.1038/nature10746",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "482",
pages = "59--62",
journal = "Nature",
issn = "0028-0836",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "7383",
}