  We report a theoretical equation of state (EOS) table for boron across a wide
range of temperatures (5.1$\times$10$^4$-5.2$\times$10$^8$ K) and densities
(0.25-49 g/cm$^3$), and experimental shock Hugoniot data at unprecedented high
pressures (5608$\pm$118 GPa). The calculations are performed with full,
first-principles methods combining path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) at high
temperatures and density functional theory molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) methods
at lower temperatures. PIMC and DFT-MD cross-validate each other by providing
coherent EOS (difference $<$1.5 Hartree/boron in energy and $<$5% in pressure)
at 5.1$\times$10$^5$ K. The Hugoniot measurement is conducted at the National
Ignition Facility using a planar shock platform. The pressure-density relation
found in our shock experiment is on top of the shock Hugoniot profile predicted
with our first-principles EOS and a semi-empirical EOS table (LEOS 50). We
investigate the self diffusivity and the effect of thermal and pressure-driven
ionization on the EOS and shock compression behavior in high pressure and
temperature conditions We study the performance sensitivity of a polar
direct-drive exploding pusher platform to pressure variations based on
comparison of the first-principles calculations with LEOS 50 via 1D
hydrodynamic simulations. The results are valuable for future theoretical and
experimental studies and engineering design in high energy density research.
(LLNL-JRNL-748227)
