Precision equation of state measurements on hydrocarbons in the high energy density regime

The equation of state (EOS) of materials at extreme temperatures and pressures is of interest to astrophysics, high-energy-density physics, and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The behavior of hydrocarbon materials at high-pressures (>1 Mbar) is essential to the understanding of ablator materials for ICF ignition targets. The EOS measurements on CHX presented here provide benchmark behavior of hydrocarbons under extreme conditions and the effect of stoichiometry (i.e. C:H ratio) on that behavior. Advances in diagnostics and analysis have made it possible to perform highly accurate measurements of shock velocity to ∼1% precision in transparent materials. This refines the impedance-match (IM) technique for laser-driven shock experiments producing precise EOS data at extreme pressures using a transparent standard such as alpha-quartz. The OMEGA laser was used to produce principal (single-shock) Hugoniot EOS measurements on polystyrene (CH), polypropylene (CH2), Glow-Discharge-Polymer (GDP) (C43H56O), and Germanium-doped GDP at shock pressures of 1--10 Mbar, with an alpha-quartz standard. This precision data tightly constrains the Hugoniot behavior of these hydrocarbons, even with the inclusion of systematic uncertainties inherent in the IM technique. A novel target design providing double-shock (re-shock) measurements along with principal Hugoniot data is presented. Results of the single-and double-shock experiments on these hydrocarbons are presented and compared to various EOS models. Temperature measurements are presented for CH and CH2; measuring both the thermal and kinematic behavior of these materials provides their complete shock EOS. Reflectance measurements on CH and CH2 show that both hydrocarbons transition from transparent insulators to reflecting conductors at pressures of 1 to 2 Mbar.