First-Principles Estimation of Electronic Temperature from X-Ray Thomson Scattering Spectrum of Isochorically Heated Warm Dense Matter.

Through the perturbation formula of time-dependent density functional theory broadly employed in the calculation of solids, we provide a first-principles calculation of x-ray Thomson scattering spectrum of isochorically heated aluminum foil, as considered in the experiments of Sperling et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 115001 (2015)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.115.115001], where ions were constrained near their lattice positions. From the calculated spectra, we find that the electronic temperature cannot exceed 2 eV, much smaller than the previous estimation of 6 eV via the detailed balance relation. Our results may well be an indication of unique electronic properties of warm dense matter, which can be further illustrated by future experiments. The lower electronic temperature predicted partially relieves the concern on the heating of x-ray free electron laser to the sample when used in structure measurement.