2016 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Ultrafast X-ray scattering from warm dense carbon
| Project/Area Number |
16K17846
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| Research Institution | Osaka University |
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Principal Investigator |
Hartley Nicholas 大阪大学, 未来戦略機構, 特任助教(常勤) (10770901)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
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| Keywords | XFEL / Carbon / SACLA |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In the past year, I have participated in experiments both operational XFEL facilities, observing the behaviour of these materials under extreme conditions. On LCLS, experiments on hydrocarbons observed formation of diamond under conditions similar to those inside icy giant planets, such as Uranus and Neptune. I will be writing a paper on these results over the next six months, discussing the behaviour of the liquid state and its relevance for planetary interior models. At SACLA, I was PI for an experiment with the first shots coupling both long and short pulse drive beams to the XFEL beam; although this was not able to give us a clear signal, we are now in a much better position to continue this work on future beamtimes, such as the experiment being proposed for later this year.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
I am currently participating in a further experiment at SACLA, using the long pulse laser to shock compress graphite to observe the formation of cubic and hexagonal diamond and see melting of these samples. These results will be confirmed using X-ray diffraction of the XFEL beam. At LCLS this summer, our experiment will continue the work on graphite and hydrocarbons, pushing to higher pressures with the upgraded laser available. I will also be involved in at experiment at the PHELIX laser, in Darmstadt, Germany, which will form diamond from plastic samples and then recover the diamonds after the experiment; this will allow both a better understanding of the material changes seen in the experiment, and potentially pave the way to a new method of industrial production of nanodiamonds.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
We will submit a proposal at the next SACLA call (2017B) to use the short pulse laser with the XFEL for the first time, and see the effect of crystal structure on extreme short term evolution after laser irradiation. The results from this experiment would be interesting not only for their theoretical application, as DFT-MD simulations suggest that melting can occur within sub-picosecond timescales but only on certain crystal structures, but also inform other experiments that use such short timescale irradiation without understanding all of the effects of it. We have also talked to the team developing the new EH6 experimental beamline at SACLA, which will provide 2x500 TW beams for use with the XFEL, and which we hope to submit a proposal for as soon as the first call is released.
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Research Products
(26 results)
