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  • Open Access

Relaxation pathways in x-ray free-electron-laser heated iron

L. Ansia*

P. Velarde

M. Fajardo and G. O. Williams

  • *Contact author: lucas.ansia.fernandez@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
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Phys. Rev. E 112, 025201 – Published 1 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1qp9-mjn8

Abstract

Nonthermal photoionized plasmas are now established in the laboratory and require models that treat the atomic processes and electron distribution self-consistently. We investigate the effects of inelastic thermalization in iron under intense x-ray irradiation using the atomic model BigBarT, suited for the self-consistent evolution of the electron continuum, including degeneracy effects. Our study focuses particularly on collisional M-shell ionization, which we identify as the dominant relaxation process of the nonthermal electrons. We show that M-shell satellite intensities are sensitive to nonthermal ionization, providing a potential method to refine collisional cross sections that are otherwise difficult to compute due to their proximity to the continuum and the associated plasma screening effects.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. E 112, 025201– Published 1 August, 2025
  • Received 29 January 2025
  • Revised 17 April 2025
  • Accepted 13 May 2025
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