CArbon phaSe Transitions prObed by Raman Spectroscopy – CASTORS

The CASTORS project aims to gnaw through challenging problems of contemporary science in the emerging field of both warm dense matter and non-equilibrium physics. This project will explore the ability of time-resolved Raman spectroscopy (T-RRS) to probe dynamics and characterize structural properties of materials in these new regimes. The project will focus on carbon based materials. Carbon presents the particularity to form 3 types of bonds (sp3, sp2 and sp) which directly relates to a specific allotrope (diamond, graphite for the most common bulk forms). In addition to the intrinsic interest of studying carbon, this material is a simple and prototypical covalent material. This type of material is of great interest for other fundamental and applied field of physics.
Raman spectroscopy has been extensively used, as a static tool, to investigate the different structure of carbon allotropes. We contemplate extending these studies to understand processes in ultra-fast non-equilibrium phase transition triggered by optical or x-ray lasers and to characterize the elusive structure of liquid carbon induced by isochoric heating by x-ray laser and induced by laser shock. These two specific problems have to be understood as a step forward in the understanding of a more general topic: the extreme states of matter. This will be the stat-up of a new research group lead by J. Gaudin, recently hired as assistant professor in the framework of a “Chair of Excellence” of the University of Bordeaux. Furthermore, this project involves different teams renowned for their expertise in all the fields required for the success of this project ranging from sample preparation up to state-of-art simulations based on new theoretical development.