X-ray scattering from solid density plasmas

Measurements of the microscopic properties of dense matter have been demonstrated by applying spectrally resolved multi-keV x-ray scattering. The scattering spectra from solid density beryllium show the inelastic Compton-down shifted feature that is spectrally broadened when heating the solid density plasmas isochorically and homogeneously to temperatures of several times the Fermi energy. The spectral shape of the inelastic scattering component provides an accurate measurement of the temperature, and the intensity ratio of inelastic to elastic scattering measures the ionization balance. These measurements extend the powerful technique of Thomson scattering [S. H. Glenzer et al., Phys. Plasmas 7, 2149 (1999)] to the x-ray regime for independent measurements of the plasma parameters of solid density and super dense laboratory plasmas. This new technique has wide applications to investigate the previously inaccessible regimes of dense matter, from Fermi degenerate, to strongly coupled, to high temperature ideal gas plasmas.; (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.