Maximilian Boehme

Degree: Ph.D. from the Dresden University of Technology
Research: Theoretical Physics
Joined LLNL: August 2024

Research at LLNL: Maximilian’s research focuses on the microscopic physics of high-energy-density (HED) plasmas under equilibrium conditions, which are central to the accurate modeling of stellar interiors, planetary cores, and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) capsule implosions. A key aspect of his work is the extraction of microscopic plasma properties from X-ray Thomson scattering experiments and the incorporation of this information into meso- and macroscopic plasma models. In parallel, he advances path-integral Monte Carlo methods for warm dense matter systems to generate rigorously exact benchmark data for quantum simulation approaches such as density functional theory and average-atom models. The overarching goal of this research is to build a first-principles understanding of HED plasmas, enabling the development and validation of next-generation reduced models.

Bio: Maximilian Boehme is a Lawrence Fellow in the Physics Division of the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Dresden University of Technology in 2016, 2020, and 2024, respectively, with a research focus on theoretical solid-state physics, computational physics, and statistical mechanics. Since his undergraduate studies, he has been engaged in high-energy-density (HED) physics research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). He was a research intern at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2018, working on X-ray Thomson scattering analysis of beryllium capsule implosions at the National Ignition Facility, and later a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, where he investigated valence band gaps in warm dense matter. His Ph.D. research, supervised by Tobias Dornheim, focused on developing a novel path-integral Monte Carlo capability for simulating warm dense hydrogen to benchmark density functional theory methods, as well as co-developing a first-principles temperature diagnostic for HED plasmas from X-ray Thomson scattering. For this work, he was co-awarded the HZDR Research Prize in 2025.