Two-dimensional interferogram of an exploding selenium foil using asoft X-ray laser interferometer

We have developed a soft X-ray interferometer capable of probing large high-density plasmas with micron spatial resolutions. A neon-like yttrium X-ray laser operating at 155 Å was combined with the Mach-Zehnder interferometer to obtain electron density profiles of a laser-produced exploding selenium foil plasma. The plasma was produced with one Nova laser beam using a 120-μm line focus, the same conditions used to create a selenium X-ray laser. The interferogram of the selenium plasma was obtained from an end-on perspective     

Spins and level widths determined by nuclear resonance fluorescence measurements on75As

The lifetimes of the 822, 865 and 1075 keV levels in⁷⁵As, as well as the spins of the latter two levels, were determined by resonant scattering of gamma rays. The primary radiation from 3000 and 5000 Ci⁶⁰Co sources was Compton scattered to produce gamma radiation of the desired energy for photo-excitation in⁷⁵As. The lifetimes of the three levels were found to be 2.00 ps, 0.60 ps and 0.32 ps respectively. The angular distributions of the resonantly scattered radiation from the 865 keV and 1075 keV levels are consistent with spins of 5/2 and 3/2 respectively. Lifetime values are compared with excited-core model calculations.     

Laser-driven shock experiments on precompressed water: Implications for "icy" giant planets

Laser-driven shock compression of samples precompressed to 1 GPa produces high-pressure-temperature conditions inducing two significant changes in the optical properties of water: the onset of opacity followed by enhanced reflectivity in the initially transparent water. The onset of reflectivity at infrared wavelengths can be interpreted as a semiconductor<-->electronic conductor transition in water, and is found at pressures above approximately 130 GPa for single-shocked samples precompressed to 1 GPa. Our results indicate that conductivity in the deep interior of "icy" giant planets is greater than realized previously because of an additional contribution from electrons.     

Shock-induced transformation of liquid deuterium into a metallic fluid

Simultaneous measurements of shock velocity and optical reflectance at 1064, 808, and 404 nm of a high pressure shock front propagating through liquid deuterium show a continuous increase in reflectance from below 10% and saturating at approximately (40-60)% in the range of shock velocities from 12 to 20 &mgr;m/ns (pressure range 17-50 GPa). The high optical reflectance is evidence that the shocked deuterium reaches a conducting state characteristic of a metallic fluid. Above 20 &mgr;m/ns shock velocity (50 GPa pressure) reflectance is constant indicating that the transformation is substantially complete.     

Velocity and timing of multiple spherically converging shock waves in liquid deuterium

The fuel entropy and required drive energy for an inertial confinement fusion implosion are set by a sequence of shocks that must be precisely timed to achieve ignition. This Letter reports measurements of multiple spherical shock waves in liquid deuterium that facilitate timing inertial confinement fusion shocks to the required precision. These experiments produced the highest shock velocity observed in liquid deuterium (U(s) = 135 km/s at ～2500 GPa) and also the first observation of convergence effects on the shock velocity. Simulations model the shock-timing results well when a nonlocal transport model is used in the coronal plasma.