Erlangen 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik

P 15: High Energy Density Physics II

P 15.1: Hauptvortrag

Donnerstag, 19. März 2026, 11:00–11:30, KH 01.020

Demonstration of X-ray Diagnostics for Heavy-Ion-Heated Matter — •Julian Lütgert — Universität Rostock, Germany.

In the transition between solid and plasma, a sample reaches the Warm Dense Matter regime, characterized by ambient densities and temperatures between 10,000 and 1,000,000 K. Typical schemes for the generation of such conditions use ultra-fast heating or shockwaves. However, these methods only create states with lifetimes up to tens of nanoseconds. Heavy ion beams can provide a different driving scheme enabling probing times on the order of microseconds, and thereby close the gap between experiments in the lab and real-world phenomena. Such experiments are now within reach, with the next generation of heavy ion synchrotrons, like FAIR at GSI (Germany), or HIAF (China), currently under construction.

As optical measurements typically fail for dense plasmas, X-ray based methods have been developed by the community. Here, we present first experiments combining heating by accelerated ions with laser-driven X-ray diagnostics, conducted at the currently available GSI infrastructure. We measure temperature and the graphitization threshold of a diamond target by comparison of spectrally resolved scattering signal to ab-initio simulations. Simultaneous X-ray diffraction and imaging measurements give insight into the integrity of the sample, indicating the onset of a temperature-driven phase transition around 2000 K. We identify unique challenges in integrating the established diagnostics with ion beams and propose initial mitigation strategies toward successful experiments at upgraded facilities.

Keywords: heavy ion beams; X-ray diagnostics; X-ray Thomson scattering; diamond