Structure and dynamics of levitated liquid aluminates

We have used the aerodynamic levitation technique combined with CO$_{2}$ laser heating to study the structures of liquid CaAl$_{2}$O$_{4}$ and MgAl$_{2}$O$_{4}$ with x-ray and neutron diffraction. We determined the structure factors and corresponding pair correlation functions describing the short-range order in the liquids. The combination of the two scattering techniques makes it possible to derive information not accessible with a single measurement. We have also obtained information on the dynamics of liquid MgAl$_{2}$O$_{4}$ with inelastic x-ray scattering.