Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae
Published on: January 10, 2018
First-Principles Estimation of Electronic Temperature from X-Ray Thomson Scattering Spectrum of Isochorically Heated
Chongjie Mo1,2, Zhenguo Fu3, Wei Kang1,4,5
1HEDPS, Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Abstract:
Through the perturbation formula of time-dependent density functional theory broadly employed in the calculation of solids, we provide a first-principles calculation of x-ray Thomson scattering spectrum of isochorically heated aluminum foil, as considered in the experiments of Sperling et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 115001 (2015)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.115.115001], where ions were constrained near their lattice positions. From the calculated spectra, we find that the electronic temperature cannot exceed 2 eV, much smaller than the previous estimation of 6 eV via the detailed balance relation. Our results may well be an indication of unique electronic properties of warm dense matter, which can be further illustrated by future experiments. The lower electronic temperature predicted partially relieves the concern on the heating of x-ray free electron laser to the sample when used in structure measurement.
More Related Videos
10:39Measurement of X-ray Beam Coherence along Multiple Directions Using 2-D Checkerboard Phase Grating
Published on: October 11, 2016
07:55Elemental-sensitive Detection of the Chemistry in Batteries through Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering
Published on: April 17, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Le Chatelier's Principle: Changing Temperature
To understand this phenomenon, consider the elementary reaction:
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Classifying Matter by State
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Quantifying Heat
The Uncertainty Principle