Unveiling the properties of Warm Dense Matter copper by means of laser-driven shock compression coupled to time-resolved XAS

The Warm Dense Matter (WDM) state is an “exotic” state of matter which shows densities typical of solids and temperatures typical of plasmas. A theoretical description of WDM is far from being achieved since conventional approximations that apply to solids or plasmas fail for such complex state and experimental data are scarce. WDM states are encountered in the inner cores of giant planets and also in the compression stage towards the inertial confinement fusion. First Light Fusion is a company leader in inertial confinement fusion research and they are interested in characterizing the properties of high-Z metals up to dynamic multi-Mbar conditions, as these metals are used for the implosion capsules or for the impactor. We propose here to use ns time resolved X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) to characterize the properties of WDM Copper subjected to high-power laser shock and release by means of High Power Laser Facility. The results will be compared to ab initio MD simulations.