Alpha heating of indirect-drive layered implosions on the National Ignition Facility
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21ja117_full.pdf
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Author(s)
Baker, K.L.
MacLaren, S.
Jones, O.
Spears, B.K.
Patel, P.K.
Nora, R.
Divol, L.
Landen, O.L.
Anderson, G.J.
Gaffney, J.
Date Issued
May 2021
Journal
Physical Review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics
Publisher
APS
Abstract
In order to understand how close current layered implosions in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion are to ignition, it is necessary to measure the level of alpha heating present. To this end, pairs of experiments were performed that consisted of a low-yield tritium–hydrogen–deuterium (THD) layered implosion and a highyield deuterium–tritium (DT) layered implosion to validate experimentally current simulation-based methods of determining yield amplification. The THD capsules were designed to reduce simultaneously DT neutron yield (alpha heating) and maintain hydrodynamic similarity with the higher yield DT capsules. The ratio of the yields measured in these experiments then allowed the alpha heating level of the DT layered implosions to be determined. The level of alpha heating inferred is consistent with fits to simulations expressed in terms of experimentally measurable quantities and enables us to infer the level of alpha heating in recent high-performing implosions.
Description
Submitted for publication in Physical Review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plasma Science and Fusion Center
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.107.015202
