Shock Physics on the Sandia Z Pulsed Power Machine

Coupling the Sandia Z Machine and Condensed Matter Theory to Understand Extreme Dynamic Compression Experiments Speaker: Dr. Marcus Knudson, Sandia National Lab This talk provides a brief overview of dynamic compression platforms and discusses examples of the use of the Sandia Z Machine to perform extreme dynamic compression studies with unprecedented accuracy. Specific examples include: evaluation of exchange-correlation (xc) functionals at the molecular-to-atomic (MA) transition in deuterium along the Principal Hugoniot at high temperature and relatively low density; direct observation of an abrupt liquid-liquid, insulator-to-metal transition in relatively cool (~1-2 kK), dense (~2 g/cc) liquid deuterium, just above the melt boundary; and evaluation of xc functionals with multiple-shock electrical conductivity measurements which probed the MA transition at intermediate temperatures and densities. Full abstract available at: https://engage.aps.org/gsccm/resource...