Properties of Warm Dense Matter and Application to X-ray Scattering

Date

Dec 21, 2011

Time

4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Speaker

Dirk Gericke

Affiliation

University of Warwick

Language

en

Main Topic

Physik

Other Topics

Physik

Host

Seminar Quantum Dynamics

Description

The term Warm Dense Matter (WDM) describes states with roughly solid densities and temperatures of about an electronvolt. These parameters put WDM between hot, fully ionised plasmas and condensed matter. From a theoretical point of view, it might be more informative to define WDM by its characteristic properties: due to the relatively high temperatures, the matter is (at least) partially ionised. However, the thermal energy of the particles is comparable to both the Fermi energy of the electrons and the correlation energy between the ions. Thus, WDM can be seen as a partially ionised matter with partially degenerate electrons and strong forces between the ions giving WDM very exotic properties. WDM deserves special attention as it naturally occurs in a number of astrophysical objects such as planets and some types of old stars. WDM also occurs in many technical applications that require the fast deposition of energy in matter such as inertial confinement fusion or material processing by laser ablation. Here, WDM is created as a transient state and the behaviour of the sample depends on its nonequilibrium response to the excitation. The talk will first give examples of WDM important for astrophysics and fusion research. Then the theoretical description of such states and the related challenges are described. In particular, quantum simulations and reduced schemes are discussed. One important property of WDM to consider is the ionic structure in WDM as this allows a close connection to experimental investigations applying the scattering of particles or x-rays. A few examples for the successful combination of scattering experiments, quantum simulations and theory investigating the properties of WDM will conclude the talk.

Last modified: Dec 21, 2011, 8:35:17 AM