| Presentation: | submitted: | by: |
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| shock_ignition_prl.pdf | 2006-12-18 09:48:03 | Riccardo Betti |
Shock ignition of thermonuclear fuel with high areal densities
Author: Riccardo Betti
Requested Type: Consider for Invited
Submitted: 2006-12-18 09:46:49
Co-authors: C.D. Zhou, K.S. Anderson, L.J. Perkins, A.A. Solodov
Contact Info:
University of Rochester
University of Rochester, 233 H
Rochester, NY 14627
USA
Abstract Text:
A novel method to assemble and ignite thermonuclear fuel [C. Zhou and R. Betti, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 50, No. 8, p. 140 (2005); R. Betti, C.D. Zhou, K.S. Anderson, L.J. Perkins and A.A. Solodov, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. (2006)] is presented. Massive cryogenic shells are first imploded by direct laser light with a low implosion velocity and on a low adiabat leading to fuel assemblies with large areal densities. The assembled fuel is ignited from a central hot spot heated by the collision of a spherically convergent ignitor shock and the return shock. The resulting fuel assembly features a hot spot pressure greater than the surrounding dense fuel pressure. Such a non-isobaric assembly requires a lower energy threshold for ignition than the conventional isobaric one. The ignitor shock can be launched by a spike in the laser power or by particle beams. The thermonuclear gain can be significantly larger than in conventional isobaric ignition for equal driver energy. The theory of non-isobaric ignition as well as the results of one- and two-dimensional simulations of the implosion and shock-ignition process in realistic NIF-like targets are presented and discussed.
Characterization: B1
Comments:
