Summary of Research
Isaac is interested in how atoms and electromagnetic radiation interact within plasmas. Specifically, his experimental work focuses on photoionized plasma--plasma driven by a strong X-ray source. This work is conducted on the Z machine at Sandia National Labs. Z is the most powerful pulsed-power facility in the world; it sends several million amps of current through many thin wires, generating a bright X-ray source. Isaac's platform utilizes the copious X-rays generated during a shot on Z to irradiate a thin foil sample and produce a photoionized plasma. The physical processes and conditions present in the experiment are relevant across a range of systems--from black hole accretion disks to laboratory ignition experiments. Through robust data analysis and comprehensive simulations, he is working on producing benchmark data that can be used to validate astrophysical and laboratory spectral synthesis codes and radiation hydrodynamics codes.
Publications
Talks
I. Huegel, P. Cho, D. Mayes, G. Loisel (October 2022). “Characterizing charge state distributions in photoionized plasma”, talk given in Laboratory Astrophysics on Z session at APS Division of Plasma Physics Conference, Spokane, WA.
I. Huegel, P. Cho, D. Mayes, G. Loisel (November 2022). “Photoionized plasma experiment on the Z machine relevant to black hole accretion disks”, talk given at UT Austin Astronomy Students Association Meeting, Austin, TX.
Posters
I. Huegel, P. Cho, D. Mayes, G. Loisel. “Characterizing charge state distributions in Fe and Si photoionized plasmas to test high density effects in astrophysical code XSTAR”.
• August 2022: Oral poster session at Z Fundamental Science Workshop, Albuquerque, NM.
• April 2023: Oral poster session at UT Austin CNS Undergraduate Research Forum, Austin, TX.
I. Huegel, P. Cho, R. Mancini, H. LeFevre, M. Trantham, G. Loisel, D. Winget, M. Montgomery, C. Kuranz. “Radiation hydrodynamics simulations of the accretion-powered objects photoionized plasmas experiment on Z”.
• May 2024: Oral poster session at High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics Conference, Tallahassee, FL.
• August 2024: Oral poster session at Z Fundamental Science Workshop, Albuquerque, NM.
• October 2024: Oral poster session at APS Division of Plasma Physics Conference, Atlanta, GA.
• February 2025: Oral poster session at NIF/JLF User Group Meeting, Livermore, CA.
Awards
Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar 2019-2022
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Scholar 2021
UT Physics Presidential Scholarship 2020-2023
UT Mechanical Engineering Presidential Scholarship 2020-2023
UT CNS Undergraduate Research Forum Award in Physics, Math, and Astronomy 2023