Measurements of electrical resistivity of heavy ion beam produced high energy density matter: Latest results for lead and tungsten

The high-intensity heavy ion beams provided by the accelerator facilities of the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) Darmstadt are an excellent tool to produce large volumes of high energy density (HED) matter. Thermophysical and transport properties of HED matter states are of interest for fundamental as well as for applied research. During the last few years development of new diagnostic techniques allowed for a series of measurements of the electrical resistivity of heavy ion beam generated HED matter. In this report we present the most recent results on electrical resistivity of HED matter at GSI. The experiments on which we report have been performed with targets consisting of tungsten wires and lead foils, respectively. Uranium and argon beam pulses with durations of a few hundred ns, intensities of about 2×1092×109 and 1×1011ions/bunch, respectively, and an initial ion energy of 300–350 A MeV have been used as a driver. An energy density deposition of about 1 kJ/g has been achieved by focusing the ion beam down to 1 mm FWHM or less.