Extreme matter compression caused by radiation cooling effect in gigabar shock wave driven by laser-accelerated fast electrons

TL;DR

This paper explores how radiation cooling causes extreme compression in gigabar shock waves driven by laser-accelerated fast electrons, revealing new insights into high-pressure plasma physics.

Contribution

It demonstrates the significant effect of radiation cooling on matter compression in gigabar shock waves through computational and theoretical analysis.

Findings

Radiation cooling leads to matter compression several times denser behind the shock front.

High pressures exceeding gigabar levels can be achieved with laser-driven spherical implosions.

The study provides a pathway to generate ultra-high pressures in laboratory settings.

Abstract

Heating a solid with laser-accelerated fast electrons is unique way for a laboratory experiment to generate a plane powerful shock wave with a pressure of several hundred or even thousands of Mbar. Behind the front of such a powerful shock wave, dense plasma is heated to a temperature of several keV. Then, a high rate of radiation energy loss occurs even in low-$Z$ plasmas. The effect of strong compression of matter due to radiation cooling in a gigabar shock wave driven by fast electrons is found in computational and theoretical researches. It is shown that the effect of radiation cooling leads to the compression of matter in the peripheral region of shock wave to a density several times larger than the density at its front. Heating a solid by a petawatt flux of laser-accelerated fast electrons allows one to surpass the gigabar pressure level of a plane shock wave, which is the maximum level for the impact of laser-accelerated pellets. Higher pressure about 100 Gbar can be achieved under laboratory conditions only when a spherical target is imploded under the action of a terawatt laser pulse.