Plasma hydrodynamics for predicting C⁴⁺ carbon projectiles charge and energy loss at LIGHT experiment

The interaction of energetic ions with partially ionized plasmas is of central relevance in warm dense matter physics and fast-ignition fusion schemes. We present a detailed theoretical study of the energy loss and charge evolution of 0.6 MeV/u C 4+ ions traversing carbon plasmas under the conditions of a recent experimental campaign at the GSI-LIGHT beamline. Plasma hydrodynamic profiles are obtained with Multi2D, projectile charge-state dynamics with CSM-2, and plasma stopping calculations of free and bound electrons with, respectively, the T-Matrix and PLASTOP models. Non-equilibrium effects result in a distinct temporal evolution of the projectile energy loss compared to equilibrium chargestate models, establishing a quantitative benchmark for interpreting forthcoming projectile-plasma interaction measurements.