Relaxation paths in irradiated and annealed compacted glasses

With the proposed experiment we aim to systematically monitor the amorphous structure of compacted glasses induced by X-ray irradiation (virtually in-situ) and by temperature (in-situ) via combined X-ray Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to reveal the glasses’ short and long range order, respectively. From preliminary synchrotron experiments on shock compressed vitreous silica we observed structural changes depending on both the irradiation time and annealing. Interestingly, the structural relaxation by irradiation is not reaching the state of the incompacted reference glass. In comparison to a glass which was ex-situ relaxed by a temperature treatment, one can see that it follows a different relaxation kinetic. Hence the ultimate goal of this study is to understand the initial structure of the compacted glasses, their structural relaxation path and potential structural intermediates.