The equation of state of dense xenon plasma under double-shock compression to 172 GPA

Abstract

Abstract. Warm dense plasmas having uniform, constant density, and temperature were generated by passage of planar shock wave through gas. The pressure of the Xe plasma was accurately measured by optical radiation method in the range of 172 GPa. The shock was produced using the flyer plate impact by accelerated up to ~6 km/s with a two-stage light gas gun. The time-resolved optical radiation histories were acquired by using a multi-wavelength channel optical transience radiance pyrometer. Shock velocity was measured and particle velocity was determined by the impedance-matching methods. Experimental data available of the Xe specimen in this region were compared with the calculations by the self-consistent fluid variational theory (SFVT). The observed shock compression ratios range from ρ/ρ 0 = 3.7 for the initial density of 2.2 g/cm 3 to ρ/ρ 0 = 8.5 for the initial density of 0.04 g/cm 3 . The comparison of the Hugoniot in the Pressure-compression plane clearly shows how higher initial densities result in lower final compression.