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Warm dense matter, abbreviated WDM, can refer to either equilibrium or non-equilibrium states of matter in a (loosely defined) regime of temperature and density between condensed matter and hot plasma. It can be defined as the state that is too dense to be described by weakly coupled plasma physics yet too hot to be described by condensed matter physics. In this state, the Accelerator Driven Warm Dense Matter Workshop
/ref> and in other setups where a condensed matter is quickly heated to become a strongly interacting plasma. As such, the WDM physics is also relevant to ablation of metals (atmospheric entry from space, laser-machining of materials, etc). A WDM created using ultra-fast laser pulses may for a short time exist in a two-temperature non-equilibrium form where a small fraction of electrons are very hot, with the temperature well above that of the bulk matter.
Warm dense matter, abbreviated WDM, can refer to either equilibrium or non-equilibrium states of matter in a (loosely defined) regime of temperature and density between condensed matter and hot plasma. It can be defined as the state that is too dense to be described by weakly coupled plasma physics yet too hot to be described by condensed matter physics. In this state, the potential energy
In physics, potential energy is the energy held by an object because of its position relative to other objects, stresses within itself, its electric charge, or other factors.
Common types of potential energy include the gravitational potenti ...
of the Coulomb interaction
Coulomb's inverse-square law, or simply Coulomb's law, is an experimental law of physics that quantifies the amount of force between two stationary, electrically charged particles. The electric force between charged bodies at rest is convention ...
between electrons
The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family,
and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have n ...
and ions is on the same order of magnitude (or even significantly exceeds) their thermal energy, while the latter is comparable to the Fermi energy. Typically, WDM has a density somewhere between and a temperature on the order of several thousand kelvin
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and ...
s (somewhere between , in the units favored by practitioners).
WDM is expected in the interiors of giant planets, brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen ( 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main-sequence star. Instead, they have a mass between the most ...
s, and small stars. WDM is routinely formed in the course of intense-laser–target interactions (including the inertial confinement fusion research), particle-beam–target interactions,/ref> and in other setups where a condensed matter is quickly heated to become a strongly interacting plasma. As such, the WDM physics is also relevant to ablation of metals (atmospheric entry from space, laser-machining of materials, etc). A WDM created using ultra-fast laser pulses may for a short time exist in a two-temperature non-equilibrium form where a small fraction of electrons are very hot, with the temperature well above that of the bulk matter.
See also
* List of plasma (physics) articles * Liquid metalsReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warm Dense Matter Plasma physics