Experiments to explore the influence of pulse shaping at the National Ignition Facility
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20ja077_full.pdf
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Thomas, C.A.
Campbell, E.M.
Baker, K.L.
Casey, D.T.
Hohenberger, M.
Kritcher, A.L.
Spears, B.K.
Khan, S.F.
Nora, R.
Woods, D.T.
Date Issued
June 2020
Journal
Physics of Plasmas
Publisher
AIP
Abstract
The shaping of the drive pulse in time is a key tool in the design of fusion experiments that use inertia to confine burning plasmas. It is directly related to the adiabat and compressibility of the DT fuel, and the characteristics of the laser and target that are needed to ignite. With this in mind, we have performed experiments at the National Ignition Facility that test small changes in the shape of the pulse. In contrast to theory, we find implosions at lower adiabats can have reduced yield and areal density. We discuss implications to performance and the mechanism(s) that could be responsible.
Description
Submitted for publication in Physics of Plasmas
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plasma Science and Fusion Center
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0019193
