Mini-course:
Aspects of High Energy Density Physics
Sat., June 15 and Sun., June 16, 2013.
Marina Room, Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Hotel
Description of the Course:
High Energy Density (HED) physics refers to the study of matter at energy
densities near 100 billion Joules per cubic meter, which corresponds to a
pressure of approximately 1 Megabar. High energy lasers, short pulse lasers,
and pulsed power generators, as well as advanced diagnostics, have enabled
recent and rapid growth in the field of HED physics. Furthermore this exciting
research moves forward in a number of directions, at both University and
National Laboratory settings.
This mini-course is designed for the middle and advanced graduate student and
provides an overall view of the fundamental physics, experiments, and
diagnostics used to study HED matter. The first day begins with the HED
physics of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), including X-ray spectroscopy of the
implosion dynamics. Large scale testbeds of ICF HED physics include the
National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and
the Omega laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Experiments at these
facilities can bring the dynamics of the cosmos into the lab, and are discussed in
a lecture on Laboratory Astrophysics. Further presentations continue with the
laser generation of HED plasmas (HEDP), but with very different parameters for
the laser pulse. The formation of energetic beams by short pulse, high intensity
lasers will be discussed through experiments and simulations. When matter is
rapidly heated by a laser and before it can expand, it is too hot to apply
condensed mater physics and too dense to be a weakly coupled plasma. This
Warm Dense Matter (WDM) regime is discussed at the quantum level in the last
lecture of the first day.
The second day concentrates on plasmas produced with pulsed power
generators that use electrical current to compress ordinary matter into the HED
state. Experiments on large scale generators, such as the Z machine at Sandia
National Laboratories, as well as University scale systems, such as at Cornell
University, are presented. Spectroscopic diagnostics are essential to reveal the
nature of such plasmas and recent advances in this area are described in the
third lecture of the day. The final presentation includes a history and presents
recent experiments and theory of HEDP formed when the generator current
compresses matter embedded with the flux of an ambient magnetic field.
Mini-course Agenda – Topics & Instructors:
Saturday, June 15, 2012
8:00 – 8:30 am
Welcome & Introductory Remarks
John Giuliani (Naval Research Laboratory)
8:30 – 9:30 am
Hydrodynamics of HED ICF
Ricardo Betti (Univ. of Rochester)
9:30 – 10:30 am
X-Ray Spectroscopy for ICF Implosions
Roberto Mancini (Univ. Nevada, Reno)
10:30 – 11:00 am
break with refreshments
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
HED Experiments on the NIF
James Hammer (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
12:00 – 1:00 pm
lunch
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Laboratory Astrophysics
Paul Drake (Univ. of Michigan)
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Intense Particle Beam Generation from Short Pulse
High Intensity Laser-Solid Interactions
Farhat Beg (Univ. of California, San Diego)
3:00 – 3:30 pm
break with refreshments
3:30 – 4:30 pm
Models of Laser-Target Interactions
George Petrov (Naval Research Laboratory)
4:30 – 5:30 pm
Quantum Molecular Dynamics Simulations
for HED Plasmas & WDM
Michael Desjarlais (Sandia National Laboratories)
Sunday, June 16, 2012
8:30 – 9:30 am
HED Physics Experiments on the Z Accelerator
Christine Coverdale (Sandia National Laboratories)
9:30 – 10:30 am
Z-Pinch Experiments on University Scale Machines
Pierre Gourdain (Cornell Univ.)
10:30 – 11:00 am
break with refreshments
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Spectroscopic Diagnostic Analysis of HED Plasmas
Yitzhak Maron (Weizmann Institute of Science)
12:00 – 1:00 pm
lunch
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Magnetic Flux Compression in HED Plasmas
Alexander Velikovich (Naval Research Laboratory)
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Concluding Remarks
John Giuliani (Naval Research Laboratory)
To register for the mini-course please visit the Conference Registration page
and follow the instructions.
Mini-course Registration Fee
regular $550 (early)……$650 (after 4/26)
student $300 (early)……$350 (after 4/26)
Registration includes lunch and dinner on Saturday, June 15,
and lunch on Sunday, June 16.
NPSS students are encouraged to apply for a Paul Phelps Grant for meeting
the mini-course fee.
mini-course organizer
John L. Giuliani
Plasma Physics Division
Naval Research Laboratory
+1 (202) 767-9299
john.giuliani@nrl.navy.mil