Energy loss dynamics of an intense uranium beam interacting with solid neon for equation-of-state studies

Experimental and theoretical studies on high-energy-density states in neon induced by an intense uranium beam have been carried out. Due to the hydrodynamic response of the ion-beam heated target matter, the energy loss of the incident ions changes significantly during the interaction time. First experimental results on measurements of energy loss dynamics of uranium beams in neon using different initial energy and intensity are reported. The energy loss dynamics measurements have been complemented with two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. A comparison between the experimental data and simulations resulted in the development of a new wide-range equation of state for neon. It is demonstrated that intense heavy-ion beams are an efficient tool for simultaneous creation and diagnostics of high-energy-density states in matter for the equation of state studies.