CDAC continues to support discovery science at the National Ignition Facility at LLNL.  A series of highly successful laser shots to study plasma phase transition in fluid hydrogen using ramp compression to 600 GPa and temperatures to 2000 K.  A follow up proposal for shots to examine hydrogen to TPa pressures at these temperature led by Raymond Jeanloz (PI) and Russell J. Hemley (co-PI) has been approved. The principal collaborators at LLNL are Peter Celliers and Marius Millot at LLNL, with strong support from Rip Collins (Rochester), Stewart McWilliams (Edinburgh), and Paul Loubeyre (CEA). 

A second campaign to determine the melting curve of iron at super Earth conditions (e.g., TPa pressures) using x-ray diffraction is well underway.  Four successful shots have been completed, with excellent diffraction data obtained in the 500 GPa pressure range so far. Hemley is the PI of this campaign, which is being led at LLNL by Rick Kraus. The academic collaborators include Sarah Stewart (UC Davis), Ronald E. Cohen (Carnegie), Lars Stixrude (UCL), and Guruswami Ravichandran (Caltech).