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SLAC scientists investigate the properties of warm dense matter, shocks, and high-intensity laser-plasma interactions.

Demo with a water jet in a high energy density science laser lab.

News Feature

The results offer important implications for astrophysics and nuclear fusion research.

NIF experiment
Illustration

Illustration of how a single crystal sample of silicon deforms during shock compression on nanosecond timescales.

MEC silicon
News Feature

They saw how the material finds a path to contorting and flexing to avoid being irreversibly crushed.

MEC silicon
Press Release

Studying a material that even more closely resembles the composition of ice giants, researchers found that oxygen boosts the formation of diamond rain.

Diamond rain formation
News Feature

A laser compressing an aluminum crystal provides a clearer view of a material’s plastic deformation, potentially leading to the design of stronger nuclear fusion...

an abstract illustration of rippling waves made of shining dots
Video

Public lecture presented by Ben Ofori-Okai

Public lecture poster for Getting to the Core of Earth’s Magnetic Field
Video
News Feature

The research could lead to a better understanding of extreme astrophysical environments and the development of compact high-energy radiation sources for science.

high-energy electrons strengthen magnetic fields
News Feature

From the invisible world of elementary particles to the mysteries of the cosmos, recipients of this prestigious award for early career scientists explore nature...

Panofsky fellows
News Feature

Edward Hohenstein, Emma McBride and Caterina Vernieri study what happens to molecules hit by light, recreate extreme states of matter like those inside stars...

Early Career Awardees 2021
News Feature

In experiments at the National Ignition Facility, a SLAC-led team found new details about how supernovas boost charged particles to nearly the speed of...

A computer simulation of the turbulent magnetic fields in two plasma shock waves, which were created in the lab to mimic astrophysical shocks.
News Feature

Siegfried Glenzer's team and collaborators from Tel Aviv University are working on a method that could make proton accelerators 100 times smaller without giving...

Glenzer-LaserProtonAcceleration
News Feature

Chemist Ben Ofori-Okai investigates what happens to matter under extreme conditions at microscopic scales to better understand its behavior at massive scales, such as...

Ben Ofori-Okai