Fresnel Diffractive Radiography Measurements of Transport Properties in Warm Dense Matter

Contemporary research into the transport properties of warm dense matter (WDM) is hampered by a lack of experimental benchmarks to corroborate extensive theoretical predictions [1] . Here we present an overview of our Fresnel Diffractive Radiography platform developed for the Omega and NIF laser facilities. This platform couples isochorically heated buried-wire targets with high-resolution X-ray imaging to measure the evolution of micron-scale density gradients at the material interface [2] - [4] . By utilizing novel 1 μm-wide slits, five times smaller than previously demonstrated, we obtain a highly coherent x-ray source that gives rise to significant refractive and diffractive features. These features reflect the material's transport properties and equation-of-state, opening the door for much-needed experimental benchmarks of thermal conductivity in WDM.