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Characterizing laser-heated polymer foams with simultaneous x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and Thomson scattering at the Matter in Extreme Conditions Endstation at LCLS

Martin, Willow M. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford University, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000314283606)·Nilsen, J. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:000000029332405X)·Fletcher, L. B. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000271207194)·MacDonald, M. J. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000262956978)·Andersen, L. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000189834893)·Arnott, A. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000158270818)·Bellenbaum, H. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany); Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Görlitz (Germany); University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:0009000665301017)·Böhme, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000302903628)·Boiadjieva, N. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000957893659)·Czapla, N. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000263043134)·Cowan, T. E. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany)] (ORCID:000000025845000X)·Döppner, T. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000257037125)·Dyer, G. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000197559780)·Ettelbrick, R. N. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)]·Falcone, R. [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000254236022)·Faubel, S. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000564261319)·Galtier, E. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:000000020396285X)·Garcia, A. Laso [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000276710901)·Gawne, T. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany); Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Görlitz (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000199983606)·Hancock, L. [Bringham Young University, Provo, UT (United States)] (ORCID:0009000604278474)·Hart, P. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000245693926)·Hartley, N. J. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000262682436)·Herbert, M. L. [University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:000900038255783X)·Huang, X. [University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)] (ORCID:0000000244773748)·Jain, G. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford University, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000714330317)·Kabelitz, K. D. [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000346660584)·Khaghani, D. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000251392310)·Kraus, D. [University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000263504180)·Lee, H. J. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000240355637)·Li, P. [University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)]·Lu, Y. [University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)] (ORCID:0000000259421999)·Mettry-Yassa, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000152085032)·McGehee, P. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000309486716)·Nagler, B. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000257367842)·Rips, J. [University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:0009000247645618)·Schumacher, S. [University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000218460000)·Toro, E. R. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford University, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000288684325)·Toncian, T. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000179863631)·Xia, X. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000312553289)·Gleason, A. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000277365118)·Glenzer, S. H. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000191120558)
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Abstract

Understanding the behavior of polymer foams at high energy density conditions is crucial to advance inertial fusion energy research. Here, we present a new experimental platform designed to measure the thermodynamic state of these materials at megabar pressures. At the Matter in Extreme Conditions Endstation of the Linac Coherent Light Source, we heat samples using an optical, high-intensity, femtosecond laser and dynamically probe them with ultra-short, coherent x-ray pulses of high peak brightness. We perform x-ray Thomson scattering measurements in forward and backward scattering geometries to capture both collective and non-collective electron behavior in the sample. Simultaneously, x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is used to measure the emission from a mid-Z dopant, providing complementary information on the plasma conditions. By combining these techniques, we obtain temporally resolved temperature measurements of the transient warm dense matter states. Our initial experiments designed to benchmark the platform with carbon samples yielded data resolving the ultrafast response to laser heating with sub-picosecond resolution, measuring plasma temperatures exceeding 50 eV. These findings lay the foundation for precision studies of the dynamic evolution of laser-heated polymer foams.

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Martin, Willow M. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford University, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000314283606), Nilsen, J. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:000000029332405X), Fletcher, L. B. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000271207194), MacDonald, M. J. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000262956978), Andersen, L. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000189834893), Arnott, A. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000158270818), Bellenbaum, H. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany); Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Görlitz (Germany); University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:0009000665301017), Böhme, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000302903628), Boiadjieva, N. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000957893659), Czapla, N. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000263043134), Cowan, T. E. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany)] (ORCID:000000025845000X), Döppner, T. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000257037125), Dyer, G. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000197559780), Ettelbrick, R. N. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)], Falcone, R. [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000254236022), Faubel, S. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000564261319), Galtier, E. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:000000020396285X), Garcia, A. Laso [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000276710901), Gawne, T. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany); Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Görlitz (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000199983606), Hancock, L. [Bringham Young University, Provo, UT (United States)] (ORCID:0009000604278474), Hart, P. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000245693926), Hartley, N. J. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000262682436), Herbert, M. L. [University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:000900038255783X), Huang, X. [University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)] (ORCID:0000000244773748), Jain, G. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford University, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000714330317), Kabelitz, K. D. [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000346660584), Khaghani, D. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000251392310), Kraus, D. [University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000263504180), Lee, H. J. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000240355637), Li, P. [University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)], Lu, Y. [University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)] (ORCID:0000000259421999), Mettry-Yassa, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000152085032), McGehee, P. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000309486716), Nagler, B. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000257367842), Rips, J. [University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:0009000247645618), Schumacher, S. [University of Rostock (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000218460000), Toro, E. R. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford University, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000288684325), Toncian, T. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000179863631), Xia, X. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000312553289), Gleason, A. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000277365118), Glenzer, S. H. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000191120558). 2025-07-01. Characterizing laser-heated polymer foams with simultaneous x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and Thomson scattering at the Matter in Extreme Conditions Endstation at LCLS. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0267033

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