Correlation function metrology for warm dense matter: Recent developments and practical guidelines
X-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) has emerged as a valuable diagnostic for matter under extreme conditions, as it captures the intricate many-body physics of the probed sample. Recent advances, such as the model-free temperature diagnostic of Dornheim et al. [Nat. Commun. 13, 7911 (2022)], have demonstrated how much information can be extracted directly within the imaginary-time formalism. However, since the imaginary-time formalism is a concept often difficult to grasp, we provide here a systematic overview of its theoretical foundations and explicitly demonstrate its practical applications to temperature inference, including relevant subtleties. Furthermore, we present recent developments that enable the determination of the absolute normalization, Rayleigh weight, and density from XRTS measurements without reliance on uncontrolled model assumptions. Finally, we outline a unified workflow that guides the extraction of these key observables, offering a practical framework for applying the method to interpret experimental measurements.
Authors
- Sebastian Schwalbe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4561-0158)
- Jan Vorberger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5926-9192)
- Tobias Dornheim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7293-6615)
- T. Döppner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5703-7125)
- Th. Gawne
- Zh. A. Moldabekov
- B. Aguilar-Solis
- S. Hamel
- W. M. Martin
- A. Sharma
- H. M. Bellenbaum
- M. Berrens
- M. P. Böhme
- D. T. Bishel
- S. H. Glenzer
- F. R. Graziani
Institutions
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US)
- Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IN)
- University of California, Merced (US)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (DE)
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (DE)
- Lawrence Livermore National Security (US)
- University of Rostock (DE)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physics of Plasmas
- Published
- 2026-04-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0304837
- Primary Topic
- High-pressure geophysics and materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Office of Science
- Fusion Energy Sciences
- Laboratory Directed Research and Development
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
- HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program