Atomic and Electronic Structure of Warm Dense Silicon*

We present experimental data to determine the atomic and electronic structure of warm dense silicon using simultaneous spectrally and angularly resolved measurements of the x‑ray scattering. A variety of uniform warm dense states spanning the solid–liquid boundary were generated through laser shock compression of silicon samples. A unified analysis of the x-ray scattering, combining spectral (x-ray Thomson scattering) and angular (x-ray diffraction) scattering data, reduced the necessary model assumptions used to determine the ion and electron structure factors, thereby reducing systematic uncertainties.