August 23, 2022

Dr. Vinay Rastogi, a postdoctoral scholar at the Wicks Lab, has published his work titled “Femtosecond diffraction studies of the sodium chloride phase diagram under laser shock compression” in the Journal of Applied Physics. The study describes in situ X-ray diffraction measurements of sodium chloride taken during shock compression and subsequent pressure release, and determines both the B1-B2 and B2-liquid phase transitions. A multiphase equation of state is used to understand the evolution of pressure and temperature. Vinay’s experiments were conducted at the Matter in Extreme Conditions endstation of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), which combines laser compression with the extremely bright and fast LCLS X-rays to produce clear, precise diffraction data.