AC conductivity of warm dense gold

Summary form only given, as follows. Experiments utilizing femtosecond laser pump-probe techniques are capable of producing nearly single warm dense matter (WDM) states. Such a single state can be described as an idealized slab plasma (ISP). Obtaining an ISP opens the window on the experimental determination of global properties - such as the AC conductivity - in a model independent manner. Hence, these experiments can provide guidance for the development and improvement of theoretical predictions of the optical properties and transport properties of WDM, i.e., in the strongly coupled, partially ionized, high-energy-density plasma regime. In this paper, we present the first measurement of the AC conductivity for well defined, single WDM states. Using measured values of the reflectivity and the transmission for an ISP produced by nearly isochoric heating of ultrathin free-standing gold foils with a femtosecond laser, the AC conductivity of warm dense gold was determined.