Simulation of dense aluminum plasma under intense x-rays

Abstract

We used the THERMOS code to calculate properties of hot dense aluminum plasma created and probed by ultrashort intense X-ray pulses generated by a free-electron laser at the LCLS facility. In our simulations we accented on taking into account the ionization potentials depression and considered both the stationary and non-stationary approaches. The calculation results reproduced the main experimental observations qualitatively and were in good agreement with other published simulations. As it turned out, despite the shortness of the X-ray impact, the non-stationary effects were rather negligible in contrast to those of the ionization potentials depression.