X-ray Thomson Scattering from Dense Plasmas

Advances in the development of laser-produced x-ray sources have enabled a new class of high-energy density physics experiments. Powerful narrow-bandwidth x rays penetrate through short-lived hot dense states of matter and probe the physical properties with spectrally resolved x-ray scattering. Experiments from isochorically-heated plasmas with electron densities in the range of solid density and above have been demonstrated allowing for the first time exploration of the microscopic properties of dense matter regime close to strongly-coupled and Fermi degenerate conditions. Backscatter measurements have accessed the non-collective Compton scattering regime, which provides accurate diagnostic information on the temperature, density and ionization states. The forward scattering spectrum has been shown to measure the collective plasmon oscillations. Besides extracting the standard plasma parameters, density and temperature, forward scattering yields new observables such as a direct measure of collisions, quantum effects and detailed balance. In this talk, we will discuss new results important for applications of this technique for novel experiments in a wide range of research areas such as inertial confinement fusion, radiation-hydrodynamics, material science, and laboratory astrophysics