Accessing terapascal pressures on two-stage light-gas guns for high-energy-density research

We present pressure amplifiers that have been developed to enable the study of material behavior at terapascal (TPa) pressures using two-stage light-gas gun (2SLGG) facilities. When impacted by a hyper-velocity projectile, Mach reflections within the pressure amplifier eventually merge to form a Mach stem, generating a planar output shock that greatly exceeds the initial drive. Validation experiments demonstrated that peak pressures of 0.6 and 1.073 TPa were achieved in quartz samples for two different amplifier designs. These pressures represent an approximately fivefold increase over the sample pressures typically attainable at 2SLGG facilities. The temporal and spatial uniformity of the pressure drive is suitable for high-precision equation-of-state measurements of materials relative to a shock standard. This work greatly extends the capabilities of 2SLGG facilities and opens new avenues of study in high-energy-density physics using these drivers.