Application of High Energy Protons in Inertial Confinement Fusion by Using the Fast Ignitor Concept for DT Fusion

A short-laser-pulse driven ion flux is examined as a fast ignitor candidate for inertial confinement fusion. The main mechanism for ion acceleration is charge separation in a plasma due to high-energy electrons driven by the laser inside the target. Another very new branch of fast ignition research is the investigation of the use of laser generated proton beams. In the present paper aims to provide insights into the feasibility of the fast ignition concept with high energy beams of protons generated in laser–plasma interactions. The optimum parameters of an ion beam and laser pulse that are suitable for an ignition spark in a hot precompressed DT fuel are estimated as a rough guide. Also, in this paper we estimate the radius of Deuterium–Tritium (DT) fuel pellet that is equal to the protons range in DT plasma.     

Laser induced fast ignition made realistic by relativistic velocities-dream or reality?

Due to the recent developments in high power lasers it is suggested to accelerate a micro-foil by the laser pressure to relativistic velocities. The time dependent velocity of this micro-foil is calculated analytically for pulsed constant laser intensity. The accelerated foil collides with a target creating a shock wave on impact. The shock wave parameters are calculated within the context of relativistic fluid dynamics.It is suggested to use the energy of the relativistic micro-foil to ignite a pre-compressed target with a density relevant for fusion ignition. The equations are written and solved for the collision between the micro-foil and the very dense target. The criteria for shock wave ignition and heat wave ignition are used to show that one needs significantly less laser energy for heat wave ignition.The present scheme shows that nuclear fast ignition by micro-foil impact could be attained in the near future with lasers that are currently under construction.     

Generation of Nonlinear Force Driven Blocks from Skin Layer Interaction of Petawatt-Picosecond Laser Pulses for ICF

The discovery of the essential difference of maximum ion energy for TW-ps laser plasma interaction compared with the 100 ns laser pulses led to the theory of a skin layer model where the control of prepulses suppressed the usual relativistic self-focusing.The subsequent generation of two nonlinear force driven blocks has been demonstrated experimentally and in extensive numerical studies where one block moves against the laser light and the other block into the irradiated target.These blocks of nearly solid state density DT plasma correspond to ion beam current densities exceeding 10^10 A/cm^2 where the ion velocity can be chosen up to highly relativistic values.Using the results of the expected ignition of DT fuel by light ion beams,a selfsustained fusion reaction front may be generated even into uncompressed solid DT fuel similar to the Nuckolls-Wood scheme where 10 kJ laser pulses produce 100 MJ fusion energy.This new and simplified scheme of laser-ICF needs and optimisation of the involved parameters.     

Thermal Transport Effect in Tokamaks and Block Ignition for Laser Fusion

Measurements of thermal conduction in tokamaks parallel to the magnetic field were up to 20 times less than the classical values. This was explained by the quantum correction of the collision frequency of electrons with ions. This stowing effect of heat is applied to re-evaluate the ignition threshold for the energy flux density E* for the ignition of solid state density deuterium tritium using nonlinear (ponderomotive) laser force driven space charge neutral plasma blocks.     

快点火物理及其对数值模拟的要求

快点火(fast ignition)是一种新的惯性约束聚交点火方式。实验和理论研究表明其点火环节是非常复杂和困难的问题。研究快点火需要深入地进行数值模拟。报告主要从分析物理出发,探讨快点火对数值模拟的要求,同时结合实际情况进行讨论。快点火主要包括三个过程,即内爆预压缩、超强激光在次临界等离子体中和在超临界密度等离子体中的传播(成道和打洞)、超热电子的产生及其在介质,特别是稠密介质中的传输和高温点火区的形成。研究认为:研究预压缩不仅需要一维、二维,而且需要三维激光靶耦合总体程序;超热电子需要包括电磁场的Fokker-Planck方程描述;点火过程的等离子体流体力学则需要考虑电子、离子双流运动方程,而且应包括电磁场。PIC程序可用来研究局部的细节,并提供上述方程所需要的参数。此外,报告还简述了近两年来的快点火实验和一些国家的未来的计划。     

Present Status and Future Prospects of Laser Fusion Research at ILE Osaka University

Reviewed are the present status and future prospects of the laser fusion research at the ILE Osaka.The Gekko XII and Peta Watt laser system have been operated for investigating the implosion hydrodynamics,fast ignition, and the relativistic laser plasma interactions and so on.In particular,the fast ignition experiments with cone shell target have been in progress as the UK and US-Japan collaboration programs.In the experiments,the imploded high density plasmas are heated by irradiating 500 J level peta-watt laser pulse.The thermal neutron yield is found to increase by three orders of magnitude by injecting the peta-watt laser into the cone shell target.The Rayleigh-Taylor instability experiment results are also reviewed is this paper.     

Alternative schemes for the inertial fusion energy

The advanced target designs are requiring a lower laser energy for ignition and promising higher energy gains. Two approaches are under development within the European inertial fusion energy project HiPER: the fast ignition scheme with energetic electrons and the shock ignition scheme. The fundamental physical issues and major experimental works related to the alternative ignition schemes as well as the reactor designs are discussed.     

Investigation of Fuel Energy Gain for Tritium-Poor Fuels in Fast Ignition Fusion Approach

One of the most fascinating ignition schemes for the inertial fusion energy that might be feasible is fast ignition.Its targets are ignited on the outside surface so there is no need to low density and high temperature center is required by central hot spot ignition.Fast ignition concept is noteworthy for a simple but fundamental reason:In principle it requires less total energy input to achieve ignition.In this paper,fuel energy and fuel energy gain of nearly pure deuterium capsule are calculated.This capsule is ignited by a deuterium-tritium seed,which would reduce the tritium inventory to a few percentages.The variations of fuel energy gain versus fuel density have been studied and submitted.On the basis of different physical parameters the following results of the investigation are presented and discussed.The energy gain curves for different tritium concentrations are found and limiting gain curves are derived.Finally,tritium-poor fast ignitor is compared to equimolar deuterium-tritium fast ignitor.     

Candidates for Laser Fusion Energy with Minimized Radioactivity

The new candidates for laser fusion energy with minimized radioactivity were presented. The possibility of side-on laser ignition of H–¹¹B with negligible radioactivity encouraged to study the fusion of solid state H–⁷Li fuel which again turns out to be only about ten times more difficult than the side-on ignition of solid deuterium–tritium using petawatt-picosecond laser pulses at anomalous interaction conditions if very high contrast ratio. Updated cross sections of the nuclear reaction are included. In other words, the specific approach discussed here involves inducing a fusion burn wave without radioactivity by laser-driven impact of a relatively large block of plasma on the outside of a solid density H–¹¹B and H–⁷Li targets.     

Progress of Laser Fusion Research with GEKKO XII Glass Laser and KONGHO Project for Breakeven

The progress of laser fusion research is remarkable in obtaining the high density (100 times solid density) and high temperature plasma and in the understanding of the implosion physics. Thermonuclear neutrons of 1013 per shot and pellet gain of 0.2% have been achieved. The data bases of the laser fusion have been accumulated for the fusion ignition experiment and the achievement of the breakeven condition is estimated to be possible with 100 kJ blue laser.     

Channeling radiation from relativistic electrons in a thin LiF crystal: When is a classical description valid?

Calculation of channeling radiation from relativistic electrons under (1 1 1) planar channeling conditions in a LiF crystal is performed using both classical and quantum methods. The complicated shape of the periodic (1 1 1) planar potential allows the existence of a different number of discrete energy levels (quantum states) in the potential well formed by planes consisting of only Li atoms and the potential well consisting of only F atoms is large enough to apply the classical method. With increasing electrons energy, the classical method becomes valid to describe CR from under-barrier electrons in a deeper potential well, while one should still apply the quantum method to calculate CR from electrons in neighboring planes. Thus, the quantum feature of a CR spectrum from relativistic electrons maintains its quantum characteristics up to relativistic factors 1000.     

A relativistic canonical symplectic particlein-cell method for energetic plasma analysis

A relativistic canonical symplectic particle-in-cell(RCSPIC) method for simulating energetic plasma processes is established. By use of the Hamiltonian for the relativistic Vlasov–Maxwell system, we obtain a discrete relativistic canonical Hamiltonian dynamical system, based on which the RCSPIC method is constructed by applying the symplectic temporal discrete method.Through a 10~6-step numerical test, the RCSPIC method is proven to possess long-term energy stability. The ability to calculate energetic plasma processes is shown by simulations of the reflection processes of a high-energy laser(1?×?10~(20) W cm~(-2)) on the plasma edge.     

A classical relativistic hydrodynamical model for strong EM wave-spin plasma interaction

Based on the covariant Lagrangian function and Euler–Lagrange equation, a set of classical fluid equations for strong EM wave-spin plasma interaction is derived. Analysis shows that the relativistic effects may affect the interaction processes by three factors: the relativistic factor, the time component of four-spin, and the velocity-field coupling. This set of equations can be used to discuss the collective spin effects of relativistic electrons in classical regime, such as astrophysics, high-energy laser-plasma systems and so on. As an example, the spin induced ponderomotive force in the interaction of strong EM wave and magnetized plasma is investigated. Results show that the time component of four-spin, which approaches to zero in nonrelativistic situations, can increase the spin-ponderomotive force obviously in relativistic situation.     

Recent results on Nova

On the Nova Laser at LLNL, we have recently demonstrated many of the key elements required for assuring that the next proposed laser, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) will reach ignition. In particular, we have achieved a drive of 300 eV in laser heated hohlraums; have shown good understanding and control of symmetry in hohlruams; created large NIF-Scale plasmas with plasma and irradiation conditions relevant to NIF targets that showed low levels of plasma instabilities; demonstrated a good understanding of hydrodynamic instability and subsequent pusher/fuel mix in implosions by means of spectroscopic tracers; and performed integrated implosion experiments that have performed well even under stringent convergences of order 25, which is well into the NIF ignition target regime.     

Bright γ-ray source with large orbital angular momentum from the laser near-critical-plasma interaction

We propose a new laser-plasma-based method to generate bright γ-rays carrying large orbital angular momentum by interacting a circularly polarized Laguerre–Gaussian laser pulse with a near-critical hydrogen plasma confined in an over-dense solid tube. In the first stage of the interaction, it is found via fully relativistic three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations that high-energy helical electron beams with large orbital angular momentum are generated. In the second stage, this electron beam interacts with the laser pulse reflected from the plasma disc behind the solid tube, and helical γ beams are generated with the same topological structure as the electron beams. The results show that the electrons receive angular momentum from the drive laser, which can be further transferred to the γ photons during the interaction. The γ beam orbital angular momentum is strongly dependent on the laser topological charge l and laser intensity a0, which scales as ${L}_{\gamma }\propto {a}_{0}^{4}$. A short (duration of 5 fs) isolated helical γ beam with an angular momentum of −3.3 × 10⁻¹⁴ kg m² s⁻¹ is generated using the Laguerre–Gaussian laser pulse with l = 2. The peak brightness of the helical γ beam reaches 1.22 × 10²⁴ photons s⁻¹ mm⁻² mrad⁻² per 0.1% BW (at 10 MeV), and the laser-to-γ-ray angular momentum conversion rate is approximately 2.1%.     

Nova target physics program and the Nova upgrade laser

Summary Recent advances in ICF target design and performance have made possible the achievement of ignition and gain with 1–2 MJ laser drive energy, as against the 5–10 MJ necessary to achieve high gain in the earlier designs. Ignition and propagating burn can be achieved at the lower energy by increasing the hohlraum temperature and, thereby increasing the pressure driving the imploding fusion capsule. Nova experiments continue to address the target physics of radiatively driven targets, such as laser-plasma interaction physics, the efficiency of laser light conversion to X-rays, hohlraum characterization and design, hydrodynamic stability, and implosion physics. Recent experiments on Nova have also demonstrated 1.3 times higher hohlraum temperature than previously predicted. This latter demonstration is the key achievement leading to the Nova Upgrade proposal. These combined results, together with those from experiments to study the interaction of high-power laser light with target plasmas, indicate that the capsule drive and symmetry conditions required for ignition and net gain can be achieved with a properly designed upgrade of the existing Nova facility.Success in the Nova Upgrade objective would firmly establish target and driver requirements for achieving high yield and high gain and would support a decision to construct a Laboratory Microfusion Facility (LMF) for defense applications and an Engineering Test Facility (ETF) for energy applications by the end of the first decade of the next century. Nova Upgrade experiments would focus on the target physics necessary to determine the minimum driver energy required to achieve ignition and high-gain laser fusion. The thermonuclear yield produced (up to 20 MJ) would be used to study the effects of fusion microexplosions on potential LMF and ETF reactor chamber materials. This information would permit development of the most efficient and least costly designs for the LMF and the ETF.In collaboration with W. H. Lowdermilk, N. Frank, C. D. Henning, John R. Murray, M. T. Tobin, J. R. Smith, E. K. Storm, J. D. Lindl, J. D. Kilkenny, J. T. Hunt, and J.B. Trenholme.     

A Review of Confinement Requirements for Advanced Fuels

The energy confinement requirements for burning D-³He, D-D, or P-¹¹B are reviewed, with particular attention to the effects of helium ash accumulation. It is concluded that the DT cycle will lead to the more compact and economic fusion power reactor. The substantially less demanding requirements for ignition in DT (the n_{e E} T required for ignition in DT is smaller than that of the nearest advanced fuel, D-³He, by a factor of 50) will allow ignition, or significant fusion gain, in a smaller device; while the higher fusion power density (the fusion power density in DT is higher than that of D-³He by a factor of 100 at the same plasma pressure) allows for a more compact and economic device at fixed fusion power.     

Fusion Generated Fast Particles by Laser Impact on Ultra-Dense Deuterium: Rapid Variation with Laser Intensity

Nuclear fusion D+D processes are studied by nanosecond pulsed laser interaction with ultra-dense deuterium. This material has a density of 10²⁹ cm^?3 as shown in several previous publications. Laser power is <2 W (0.2 J pulses) and laser intensity is <10¹⁴ W cm^?2 in the 5–10 μm wide beam waist. Particle detection by time-of-flight energy analysis with plastic scintillators is used. Metal foils in the particle flux to the detector remove slow ions, and make it possible to convert and count particles with energy well above 1 MeV. The variation of the signal of MeV particles from D+D fusion is measured as a function of laser power. At relatively weak laser-emitter interaction, the particle signal from the laser focus varies as the square of the laser power. This indicates collisions in the ultra-dense deuterium of two fast deuterons released by Coulomb explosions. During experiments with stronger laser-emitter interaction, the signal varies approximately as the sixth power of the laser power, indicating a plasma process. At least 2 × 10⁶ particles are created by each laser pulse at the maximum intensity used. Our results indicate break-even in fusion at a laser pulse energy of 1 J with the same focusing, in approximate agreement with theoretical results for ignition conditions in ultra-dense deuterium. Radiation loss at high temperature will however require higher laser energy at break-even.     

Numerical simulation of nanosecond laser ablation and plasma characteristics considering a real gas equation of state

Based on the governing equations which include the heat conduction equation in the target and the fluid equations of the vapor plasma,a two-dimensional axisymmetric model for ns-laser ablation considering the Knudsen layer and plasma shielding effect is developed.The equations of state of the plasma are described by a real gas approximation,which divides the internal energy into the thermal energy of atoms,ions and electrons,ionization energy and the excitation energy of atoms and ions.The dynamic evolution of the silicon target and plasma during laser ablation is studied by using this model,and the distributions of the temperature,plasma density,Mach number related to the evaporation/condensation of the target surface,laser transmissivity as well as internal energy of the plasma are given.It is found that the evolution of the target surface during laser ablation can be divided into three stages:(1)the target surface temperature increases continuously;(2)the sonic and subsonic evaporation;and(3)the subsonic condensation.The result of the internal energy distribution indicates that the ionization and excitation energy plays an important role in the internal energy of the plasma during laser ablation.This model is suitable for the case that the temperature of the target surface is lower than the critical temperature.     

Nonlinear Propagation of Ion-Acoustic Shock waves in Dissipative Electron–Positron–Ion Plasmas with Superthermal Electrons and Relativistic Ions

A weakly nonlinear analysis is carried out to derive the appropriate Korteweg–de Vries–Burgers-like equation for small, but finite amplitude, ion-acoustic waves in a dissipative plasma consisting of relativistic ions, Maxwell–Boltzmann distributed positrons and superthermal electrons. Our results show that in a such plasma, ion-acoustic shock waves, the spatial patterns of which are significantly modified by the relativistic and dissipative effects, may exist. Interestingly, we found that because of ion kinematic viscosity, an initial solitonic profile develops into a shock wave. This later evolves towards a monotonic profile (dissipation–dominant case) as the electrons deviate from their thermodynamic equilibrium. As the relativistic character of the plasma becomes important, the shock wave amplitude decreases. Our investigation may be taken as a prerequisite for the understanding of the shock-waves observed in the ionosphere and the auroral acceleration regions. We recall that when a high energy cosmic ray interacts with the earth’s atmosphere, it may produce an electron–positron pair with enormous velocities. The data obtained during the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) flight permitting to probe the radiation belts in the Earth’s innermost magnetosphere provided an evidence of the presence of positrons.