X-ray Thomson scattering of warm dense matter on the Z-accelerator*

Experiments on the Z-accelerator have demonstrated the ability to produce warm dense matter (WDM) states with unprecedented uniformity, duration, and size. Significant progress to combine x-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS), a powerful diagnostic for WDM, with the extreme environments created at Z has been accomplished. The large Z current is used to magnetically launch Al flyers to impact CH$_{2}$ foam (0.12 g/cm$^{3})$. The uniformly-shocked CH$_{2}$ volume is 5-10 mm$^{3}$, and the steady shock phase lasts 10-100 ns, which are roughly 1500 {\&} 100 times larger, respectively, than typical laser shocked samples. The Z-Beamlet laser irradiates a 5 $\mu $m thick Mn foil near the load to generate 6.181 keV Mn-He-$\alpha $ x-rays that penetrate into the WDM state and scatter from it. A new high sensitivity x-ray scattering spherical spectrometer (XRS$^{3})$ with both high spatial ($\sim$75 $\mu $m) and spectral ($E/\Delta E$ $\sim$ 1500) resolution is fielded that enables benchmark quality data by simultaneously measuring x-rays scattered from shocked and ambient regions of the CH$_{2}$ foam, and the Mn x-ray source.