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Hawreliak, J. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Hawreliak, J. A..

Sound speed determination in copper shock compressed to 190 GPa

Sound speed measurements in shock compressed solids have long been valuable for the development of equations of state at extreme conditions, shock-induced phase transformations, and a comprehensive characterization of the thermophysical response of high-pressure standards. We present results from plate impact experiments to 190 GPa to determine the longitudinal sound speed in copper—an important high-pressure standard. Surprisingly, the sound speeds determined using the two most common experimental techniques—the front surface impact (FSI) approach and the release wave overtake (RWO) approach—diverge significantly for stresses greater than ~100 GPa. Further analyses, including numerical simulations, show that the FSI experiments provide the correct sound speeds and that fundamental assumptions underlying the RWO method are likely violated due to the complex release response of shock compressed copper. The sound speeds determined using the FSI approach provide for a more accurate high-pressure description of copper in dynamic compression experiments. The present findings are in contrast to the results for shock compressed silver [Wallace et al., Phys. Rev. B 104, 214106 (2021)], where both methods provided consistent sound speed results. Thus, the findings presented here demonstrate the need to experimentally verify the validity of the RWO method on a case-by-case basis. Finally, we note that even at the high stresses in the present work, the copper unloading response shows a time-dependent, quasielastic response often observed in metals at lower stresses.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Refractive index of lithium fluoride at high dynamic stresses

Alkali halides are prototypical ionic solids whose refractive index is a fundamental property related to their lattice structure and ionic polarizability. In particular, lithium fluoride (LiF) has the largest band gap of any known transparent material and maintains transparency at high pressures, making it well suited for use as an optical window in dynamic compression experiments. While empirical fits to the measured density dependence of the refractive index have been provided, a model that is valid over the entire pressure range of experiments and based on a polarization-based theoretical description is lacking. We present a refractive index model for dynamically compressed LiF based on the Lorentz-Lorenz equation, where the molecular polarizability is determined using a single oscillator model with a strain polarizability parameter Λ=0.73. Here, we show that our modeling approach provides an excellent match to the LiF refractive index data for both shock and ramp compression experiments to 900 GPa (density compression greater than threefold). Additionally, updated fits are provided to determine the refractive index correction for LiF windows used in dynamic compression experiments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

X-ray scattering measurements on imploding CH spheres at the National Ignition Facility

In this study, we have performed spectrally resolved x-ray scattering measurements on highly compressed polystyrene at pressures of several tens of TPa (100 Mbar) created by spherically convergent shocks at the National Ignition Facility. Scattering data of line radiation at 9.0 keV were recorded from the dense plasma shortly after shock coalescence. Accounting for spatial gradients, opacity effects, and source broadening, we demonstrate the sensitivity of the elastic scattering component to carbon K -shell ionization while at the same time constraining the temperature of the dense plasma. Finally, for six times compressed polystyrene, we find an average temperature of 86 eV and carbon ionization state of 4.9, indicating that widely used ionization models need revision in order to be suitable for the extreme states of matter tested in our experiment.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Dynamic Behavior of Engineered Lattice Materials

Additive manufacturing (AM) is enabling the fabrication of materials with engineered lattice structures at the micron scale. These mesoscopic structures fall between the length scale associated with the organization of atoms and the scale at which macroscopic structures are constructed. Dynamic compression experiments were performed to study the emergence of behavior owing to the lattice periodicity in AM materials on length scales that approach a single unit cell. For the lattice structures, both bend and stretch dominated, elastic deflection of the structure was observed ahead of the compaction of the lattice, while no elastic deformation was observed to precede the compaction in a stochastic, random structure. The material showed lattice characteristics in the elastic response of the material, while the compaction was consistent with a model for compression of porous media. Here, the experimental observations made on arrays of 4 x 4 x 6 lattice unit cells show excellent agreement with elastic wave velocity calculations for an infinite periodic lattice, as determined by Bloch wave analysis, and finite element simulations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Ramp compression of tantalum to 330 GPa

We report on the stress–density and rate-dependent response for Ta, ramp compressed to 330 Pa with strain rates up to 5 x 108 s -1 . We employ temporally shaped laser drives to compress Ta stepped foils over several to tens of nanoseconds. Lagrangian wave-profile analysis reveals a stress–density relationship which falls below the Hugoniot, above the hydrostat, and is consistent with ramp-compression experiments at lower strain rates. We also report on the peak elastic stress prior to plastic deformation as a function of strain rate for laser-driven ramp and shock-compression data spanning the 1–50 × 107 s -1 strain-rate range. When combined with previously published lower strain data (101–107 s -1 ), we observe a change in rate dependence, suggesting a transition from thermally activated to defect-limited (phonon drag) dislocation motion occurring at a strain rate of about 105 s -1 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

X-ray continuum emission spectroscopy from hot dense matter at Gbar pressures

We have measured the time-resolved x-ray continuum emission spectrum of ∼30 times compressed polystyrene created at stagnation of spherically convergent shock waves within the Gbar fundamental science campaign at the National Ignition Facility. From an exponential emission slope between 7.7 keV and 8.1 keV photon energy and using an emission model which accounts for reabsorption, we infer an average electron temperature of 375 ± 21 eV, which is in good agreement with HYDRA-1D simulations.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Simulating x-ray Thomson scattering signals from high-density, millimetre-scale plasmas at the National Ignition Facility

We have developed a model for analysing x-ray Thomson scattering data from high-density, millimetre-scale inhomogeneous plasmas created during ultra-high pressure implosions at the National Ignition Facility in a spherically convergent geometry. The density weighting of the scattered signal and attenuation of the incident and scattered x-rays throughout the target are included using radial profiles of the density, opacity, ionization state, and temperature provided by radiation-hydrodynamics simulations. These simulations show that the scattered signal is strongly weighted toward the bulk of the shocked plasma and the Fermi degenerate material near the ablation front. We show that the scattered signal provides a good representation of the temperature of this highly nonuniform bulk plasma and can be determined to an accuracy of ca. 15% using typical data analysis techniques with simple 0D calculations. On the other hand, the mean ionization of the carbon in the bulk is underestimated. We suggest that this discrepancy is due to the convolution of scattering profiles from different regions of the target. Subsequently, we discuss modifications to the current platform to minimise the impact of inhomogeneities, as well as opacity, and also to enable probing of conditions more strongly weighted toward the compressed core.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Experimental evidence for a phase transition in magnesium oxide at exoplanet pressures

Here, magnesium oxide, an important component of the Earth’s mantle, has been extensively studied in the pressure and temperature range found within the Earth. However,much less is known about its behavior under conditions appropriate for newly-discovered super-Earth planets, where pressures can exceed 1000 GPa (10 Mbar). It is widely believed that MgO will follow the rocksalt (B1) to cesium chloride (B2) transformation pathway commonly found for many alkali halides, alkaline earth oxides and various other ionic compounds. Static compression experiments have determined the structure of MgO to 250 GPa but have been unable to reach pressures necessary to induce the predicted transformation, resulting in large uncertainties regarding its properties under conditions relevant to super-Earths and other large planets. Here we report new dynamic x-ray diffraction measurements of ramp-compressed MgO to 900 GPa.We report evidence for the B2 phase beginning near 600 GPa, remaining stable on further compression to 900 GPa, the highest pressure diffraction data ever collected.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Powder diffraction from solids in the terapascal regime

A method of obtaining powder diffraction data on dynamically compressed solids has been implemented at the Jupiter and OMEGA laser facilities. Thin powdered samples are sandwiched between diamond plates and ramp compressed in the solid phase using a gradual increase in the drive-laser intensity. The pressure history in the sample is determined by back-propagation of the measured diamond free-surface velocity. A pulse of x rays is produced at the time of peak pressure by laser illumination of a thin Cu or Fe foil and collimated at the sample plane by a pinhole cut in a Ta substrate. The diffracted signal is recorded on x-ray sensitive material, with a typical d-spacing uncertainty of {approx}0.01 A. This diagnostic has been used up to 0.9 TPa (9 Mbar) to verify the solidity, measure the density, constrain the crystal structure, and evaluate the strain-induced texturing of a variety of compressed samples spanning atomic numbers from 6 (carbon) to 82 (lead). Further refinement of the technique will soon enable diffraction measurements in solid samples at pressures exceeding 1 TPa.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗