Characterising equation of state and optical properties of dynamically pre-compressed materials

Characterising materials at pressures of several megabar and temperatures of a few thousand Kelvin is critical for the understanding of the Warm Dense Matter regime and to improve planetary models as these conditions are typical of planets' interiors. Today, laser-driven shock compression is the only technique to achieve multimegabar pressures, but the associated temperatures are too high to be representative of planetary states. Double-shock compression represents an alternative to explore lower temperatures. Here we present a method to create well-controlled double-shocked states and measure their thermodynamic state and optical reflectivity using standard optical diagnostics (Doppler velocimetry and optical pyrometry) in a laser-driven shock experiment. This method, which does not require the support of hydrodynamical simulations, is based on the application of generalised Rankine-Hugoniot relations together with a self impedance mismatch technique. A validation experiment has been performed at the LULI2000 facility (\'Ecole Polytechnique, France) on a sample of $\alpha$-quartz. A temperature $60 \%$ lower than along the principal Hugoniot has been obtained at 7.5 Mbar.