Resonant Bound-Free Contributions to Thomson Scattering of X-rays by Warm Dense Matter

Recent calculations [Nilsen et al. arXiv:1212.5972] predict that contributions to the scattered photon spectrum from 3s and 3p bound states in chromium (Z = 24) at metallic density and T = 12 eV resonate below the respective bound-state thresholds. These resonances are shown to be closely related to continuum lowering, where 3d bound states in the free atom dissolve into a resonant l = 2 partial wave in the continuum. The resulting d-state resonance dominates contributions to the bound-free dynamic structure function, leading to the predicted resonances in the scattered X-ray spectrum. Similar resonant features are shown to occur in all elements in the periodic table between Ca and Mn (20 ≤ Z ≤ 25).