Ultrafast K-alpha Thomson scattering from shock compressed matter for use as a dense matter diagnostic

Material conditions in the high-energy-density-physics regime relevant for the study of planetary formation, the modeling of planetary composition, and for inertial confinement fusion experiments, such as on the future National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), can be produced and studied in the laboratory using high powered lasers that shock compress material to pressures greater than > 1 Mbar. Measurement of the compression and heating of shock-compressed dense matter at high pressures is fundamental in the study and understanding of the physical and chemical properties of these extreme states. Investigation of the behavior of the ionic and elecronic properties in this regime is important to determine the equation of state and thermodynamic properties of materials under extreme conditions, that are not currently well understood.;In previous work, x-ray Thomson scattering has been employed to characterize dense matter conditions, ne > 3 x 10 21cm-3, that cannot be probed using the well established technique of optical Thomson scattering. These experiments employed x-ray probes with a temporal resolution of 100 ps. However, for the full characterization of strong shocks in dense matter, an x-ray source that provides picosecond temporal resolution, i.e. K-alpha x-rays, is desirable.;Presented in this thesis, are the first spectrally and temporally resolved x ray Thomson scattering measurements using ultrafast (10 ps) Ti K-alpha x-rays. These measurements have provided experimental validation for modeling of the compression and heating of shocked matter. The coalescence of two shocks launched into a solid density LiH target by a shaped 6 nanosecond heater beam was observed from rapid heating to temperatures of 2.2 eV, enabling tests of shock timing models, mainly dependent on choice of Equation of State (EOS). Here, the temperature evolution of the target at various times during shock progression was characterized from the intensity of the elastic scattering component. The observation of scattering from plasmons, electron plasma oscillations, at shock coalescence indicates a transition to a dense metallic plasma state in LiH. From the frequency shift of the measured plasmon feature the electron density was directly determined with high accuracy, providing a material compression of a factor of three times solid density. The quality of data achieved in these experiments demonstrates the capability for single-shot dynamic characterization of dense shock compressed matter. The conditions probed in this experiment are relevant for the study of the physics of planetary formation and to characterize inertial confinement fusion targets.;In addition, presented in this thesis are the first ultrafast temporally, spectrally and angularly resolved x-ray Thomson scattering measurements from shock-compressed matter. These experiments allowed the testing of theoretical models used in the multi-shock experiments to infer temperatures, from dependency of the elastic scattering feature intensity on the ion form factor. The experimental spectra provided the absolute elastic and inelastic scattering intensities from the measured density of free electrons. Laser-compressed lithium-hydride samples were well characterized by inelastic Compton and Plasmon scattering of a K-alpha x-ray probe providing independent measurements of temperature and density. The data show excellent agreement with the total intensity and structure when using the two-species form factor and accounting for the screening of ion-ion interactions.;Also presented in this thesis are proof-of-principle x-ray scattering measurements from inertial confinement fusion implosion targets, and a discussion of ongoing and future work. These first measurements provided temperature and density conditions for imploding CH shells for the investigation of the capsule ablator adiabat. Measurement and understanding of the adiabat response to implosion and target conditions is important and must be kept low for optimum fuel compression and target energy yield. Quality of single shot data provided validation of this diagnostic when applied to inertial confinement fusion targets, and demonstrate its use as a powerful probe for the future NIF, at the LLNL.