Planetary physics research at the Facility for Antiprotons and Ion Research using intense ion beams

Abstract

Intense particle beams offer a new efficient driver to produce extended samples of high energy density (HED) matter with extreme physical conditions that are expected to exist in the planetary interiors. In this paper, we present two-dimensional hydrodynamic implosion simulations of a multi-layered cylindrical target that is driven by an intense uranium beam. The target is comprised of a sample material (which is water in the present case) that is enclosed in a cylindrical tungsten shell. This scheme is named LAPLAS that stands for Laboratory Planetary Science, and it leads to a low entropy compression. This means that the water sample is compressed to super-solid densities, ultra-high pressures, but relatively low temperatures. Such exotic conditions are predicted to exist in the cores of water-rich solar, as well as extrasolar planets. The beam parameters are chosen to match the characteristics of the particle beam that will be delivered by the heavy ion synchrotron, SIS100, at the Facility for Antiprotons and Ion Research (FAIR), at Darmstadt. It is to be noted that the LAPLAS scheme is an important part of the HED physics program at FAIR, which is named HEDP@FAIR. The simulations predict that the LAPLAS experiments will produce a wealth of information on the Equation-of-State properties of the exotic matter that forms the planetary cores. This information can be very helpful in understanding the formation, evolution and the final structure of the planets.