Speaker
Description
The high power lasers are today an important tool for studying matter under extreme conditions, characterized by density greater than the solid density, moderate temperatures (T ≈ a few eV) and pressures in 1-10 Mbar range. The behavior and physical properties of this matter are still poorly understood, both theoretically and experimentally, and far from trivial to be simulated numerically. We will present a brief introduction on the different experimental methods used to generate this matter, on its characterization and its fundamental role in the planetology. The talk will be focused on a review of last results on equation of state using optical diagnostics and studies to investigate phase transitions, structure changes and test approximations used in calculations using X-ray diagnostics. The materials investigated are between the main components of planetary interiors: water, mixtures, silicates and iron. The experiments have been performed on LULI 2000 at Ecole Polytechnique, on GEKKO at ILE (Osaka) and on MEC at LCLS (Stanford).
