Soft X-Ray Thomson scattering in warm dense hydrogen at FLASH

We present collective Thomson scattering with soft x-ray free electron laser radiation as a method to track the evolution of warm dense matter plasmas with ∼200 fs time resolution. In a pump-probe scheme an 800 nm laser heats a 20 ∼m hydrogen droplet to the plasma state. After a variable time delay in the order of ps the plasma is probed by an x-ray ultra violet (XUV) pulse which scatters from the target and is recorded spectrally. Alternatively, in a self-Thomson scattering experiment, a single XUV pulse heats the target while a portion of its photons are being scattered probing the target. From such inelastic x-ray scattering spectra free electron temperature and density can be inferred giving insight on relaxation time scales in plasmas as well as the equation of state. We prove the feasibility of this method in the XUV range utilizing the free electron laser facility in Hamburg, FLASH. We recorded Thomson scattering spectra for hydrogen plasma, both in the self-scattering and in the pump-probe mode using optical laser heating. © 2009 SPIE-