Eric Galtier
SLAC, National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
Most of our Universe is made of High Energy Density (HED) systems:
Jovian planets, accretion disks, galactic jets, supernovæ. On
Earth, the latest generation of lasers are now capable of producing
these extreme state of matter, albeit on a short time and small spatial
scales. As a consequence, despite being fundamental for our knowledge
of a large variety of topics, matter in extreme conditions is very
challenging to study.
The advent of the 4th generation of light sources, namely the Free
Electron Lasers (FELs), allows new approaches of producing and diagnosing
extreme state of matter. In 2009, the Linac Coherent Light
Source (LCLS) at SLAC was the first FEL to produce X-ray photons
to be used by the user community. This unique type of X-ray source
is powerfull and elegant to tackle the problem of the extreme state of
matter. In combination with high intensity/high power lasers, like at
MEC, it offers a unique environment to create high energy density systems,
like Warm Dense Matter or laser wakefield acceleration/proton
beams.
In this talk, we will present an overview of the LCLS performances
and more specifically, the Matter in Extreme Conditions hutch capabilities.
We will cover the current state of the end-station, future
upgrades, and show some selected scientific highlights of its first three
years of operation.
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