Ionization by XFEL radiation produces distinct structure in liquid water

Abstract In the warm dense matter (WDM) regime, where condensed, gas, and plasma phases coexist, matter frequently exhibits unusual properties that cannot be described by contemporary theory. Experiments reporting phenomena in WDM are therefore of interest to advance our physical understanding of this regime, which is found in dwarf stars, giant planets, and fusion ignition experiments. Using 7.1 keV X-ray free electron laser radiation (nominally 5×10 5 J/cm 2 ), we produced and probed transient WDM in liquid water. Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) from the probe reveals a new ~9 Å structure that forms within 75 fs. By 100 fs, the WAXS peak corresponding to this new structure is of comparable magnitude to the ambient water peak, which is attenuated. Simulations suggest that the experiment probes a superposition of two regimes. In the first, fluences expected at the focus severely ionize the water, which becomes effectively transparent to the probe. In the second, out-of-focus pump radiation produces O 1+ and O 2+ ions, which rearrange due to Coulombic repulsion over 10 s of fs. Our simulations account for a decrease in ambient water signal and an increase in low-angle X-ray scattering but not the experimentally observed 9 Å feature, presenting a new challenge for theory.

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Publication Details

Journal
Communications Physics
Published
2024-08-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-024-01768-6
Primary Topic
High-pressure geophysics and materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Ionization by XFEL radiation produces distinct structure in liquid water

Sébastien Boutet, Thomas J. Lane, A. Gorel, Adrian P. Mancuso⋈ et al.
Communications Physics
High-pressure geophysics and materials
article

Ionization by XFEL radiation produces distinct structure in liquid water

Sébastien Boutet, Thomas J. Lane, A. Gorel, Adrian P. Mancuso⋈, Zoltán Jurek, Michal Stránský, Ilme Schlichting, Beata Ziaja
article en

Abstract

Abstract In the warm dense matter (WDM) regime, where condensed, gas, and plasma phases coexist, matter frequently exhibits unusual properties that cannot be described by contemporary theory. Experiments reporting phenomena in WDM are therefore of interest to advance our physical understanding of this regime, which is found in dwarf stars, giant planets, and fusion ignition experiments. Using 7.1 keV X-ray free electron laser radiation (nominally 5×10 5 J/cm 2 ), we produced and probed transient WDM in liquid water. Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) from the probe reveals a new ~9 Å structure that forms within 75 fs. By 100 fs, the WAXS peak corresponding to this new structure is of comparable magnitude to the ambient water peak, which is attenuated. Simulations suggest that the experiment probes a superposition of two regimes. In the first, fluences expected at the focus severely ionize the water, which becomes effectively transparent to the probe. In the second, out-of-focus pump radiation produces O 1+ and O 2+ ions, which rearrange due to Coulombic repulsion over 10 s of fs. Our simulations account for a decrease in ambient water signal and an increase in low-angle X-ray scattering but not the experimentally observed 9 Å feature, presenting a new challenge for theory.

Communications PhysicsVol. 7(1)
Universität Hamburg (DE), La Trobe University (AU), Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY (DE), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US), Max Planck Institute for Medical Research (DE), Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences (PL), FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ), Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (DE), Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (DE), Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (DE)
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Polska Akademia Nauk, Helmholtz Association, National Institutes of Health, Office of Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Basic Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 85%
High-pressure geophysics and materials
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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