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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Direct observation of strong ion coupling in laser-driven shock-compressed targets
A Ravasio1, G Gregori, A Benuzzi-Mounaix
1Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation de Lasers Intenses, UMR7605, CNRS-CEA, Université Paris VI-Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.
Abstract:
In this Letter we report on a near collective x-ray scattering experiment on shock-compressed targets. A highly coupled Al plasma was generated and probed by spectrally resolving an x-ray source forward scattered by the sample. A significant reduction in the intensity of the elastic scatter was observed, which we attribute to the formation of an incipient long-range order. This speculation is confirmed by x-ray scattering calculations accounting for both electron degeneracy and strong coupling effects. Measurements from rear side visible diagnostics are consistent with the plasma parameters inferred from x-ray scattering data. These results give the experimental evidence of the strongly coupled ionic dynamics in dense plasmas.
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