Electrical conductivity of non-equilibrium warm dense aluminum measured by single-shot THz spectroscopy*

Understanding warm dense matter (WDM) is crucial to fields such as planetary astrophysics and fusion energy. Specifically, the electrical conductivity of WDM is vital for developing accurate models of planetary formation and inertial fusion ignition. We present measurements of the electrical conductivity of laser-generated warm dense aluminum (WD-Al).

 

Effectively static THz pulses make ideal probes of near-DC conductivity. We therefore measured the conductivity of WD-Al using single-shot terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy. We performed measurements at various pump-THz time delays to investigate solid- and liquid-like WD-Al. We also studied the effect of electron temperature on electrical conductivity by varying the pump energy. We determined conductivities as low as 1e6 S/m. Our measurements will be especially useful for evaluating theoretical predictions.