Simulations for experimental study of warm dense matter and inertial fusion energy applications on NDCX-II

The Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment II (NDCX II) is an induction accelerator planned for initial commissioning in 2012. The final design calls for a ∼3 MeV, ∼30 A Li+ ion beam, delivered in a bunch with characteristic pulse duration of 1 ns, and transverse dimension of order 1 mm. The purpose of NDCX II is to carry out experimental studies of material in the warm dense matter regime, and ion beam/hydrodynamic coupling experiments relevant to heavy ion based inertial fusion energy. In preparation for this new machine, we have carried out hydrodynamic simulations of ion-beam-heated, metallic solid targets, connecting quantities related to observables, such as brightness temperature and expansion velocity at the critical frequency, with the simulated fluid density, temperature, and velocity. We examine how these quantities depend on two commonly used equations of state.