166 research outputs found
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Target designs for energetics experiments on the National Ignition Facility
The goal of the first hohlraum energetics experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [G. H. Miller et al , Optical Eng. 43, 2841 (2004)] is to select the hohlraum design for the first ignition experiments. Sub-scale hohlraums heated by 96 of the 192 laser beams on the NIF are used to emulate the laser-plasma interaction behavior of ignition hohlraums. These ''plasma emulator'' targets are 70% scale versions of the 1.05 MJ, 300 eV ignition hohlraum and have the same energy-density as the full-scale ignition designs. Radiation-hydrodynamics simulations show that the sub-scale target is a good emulator of plasma conditions inside the ignition hohlraum, reproducing density ne within 10% and temperature Te within 15% along a laser beam path. Linear backscatter gain analysis shows the backscatter risk to be comparable to that of the ignition target. A successful energetics campaign will allow the National Ignition Campaign to focus its efforts on optimizing ignition hohlraums with efficient laser coupling
How much laser power can propagate through fusion plasma?
Propagation of intense laser beams is crucial for inertial confinement
fusion, which requires precise beam control to achieve the compression and
heating necessary to ignite the fusion reaction. The National Ignition Facility
(NIF), where fusion will be attempted, is now under construction. Control of
intense beam propagation may be ruined by laser beam self-focusing. We have
identified the maximum laser beam power that can propagate through fusion
plasma without significant self-focusing and have found excellent agreement
with recent experimental data, and suggest a way to increase that maximum by
appropriate choice of plasma composition with implication for NIF designs. Our
theory also leads to the prediction of anti-correlation between beam spray and
backscatter and suggests the indirect control of backscatter through
manipulation of plasma ionization state or acoustic damping.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Plasma Physics and Controlled
Fusio
Neutron time-of-flight measurements of charged-particle energy loss in inertial confinement fusion plasmas
Neutron spectra from secondary ^{3}H(d,n)α reactions produced by an implosion of a deuterium-gas capsule at the National Ignition Facility have been measured with order-of-magnitude improvements in statistics and resolution over past experiments. These new data and their sensitivity to the energy loss of fast tritons emitted from thermal ^{2}H(d,p)^{3}H reactions enable the first statistically significant investigation of charged-particle stopping via the emitted neutron spectrum. Radiation-hydrodynamic simulations, constrained to match a number of observables from the implosion, were used to predict the neutron spectra while employing two different energy loss models. This analysis represents the first test of stopping models under inertial confinement fusion conditions, covering plasma temperatures of k_{B}T≈1-4  keV and particle densities of n≈(12-2)×10^{24}  cm^{-3}. Under these conditions, we find significant deviations of our data from a theory employing classical collisions whereas the theory including quantum diffraction agrees with our data
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Ideal Laser Beam Propagation through high temperature ignition hohlraum plasmas
We demonstrate that a blue (3{omega}, 351 nm) laser beam with an intensity of 2 x 10{sup 15} W-cm{sup -2} propagates within the original beam cone through a 2-mm long, T{sub e}=3.5 keV high density (n{sub e} = 5 x 10{sup 20} cm{sup -3}) plasma. The beam produced less than 1% total backscatter; the resulting transmission is greater than 90%. Scaling of the electron temperature in the plasma shows that the plasma becomes transparent for uniform electron temperatures above 3 keV. These results are consistent with linear theory thresholds for both filamentation and backscatter instabilities inferred from detailed hydrodynamic simulations. This provides a strong justification for current inertial confinement fusion designs to remain below these thresholds
Energetics of Propellant Options for High-Power Hall Thrusters
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76265/1/AIAA-16376-173.pd
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Laser Beam Propagation through Inertial Confinement Fusion Hohlraum Plasmas
A study of the relevant laser-plasma interaction processes has been performed in long-scale length plasmas that emulate the plasma conditions in indirect drive inertial confinement fusion targets. Experiments in this high-temperature (T{sub e} = 3.5 keV), dense (n{sub e} = 0.5 - 1 x 10{sup -3}) hohlraum plasma have demonstrated that blue 351-nm laser beams produce less than 1% total backscatter resulting in transmission greater than 90% for ignition relevant laser intensities (I < 2 x 10{sup 15} W cm{sup -2}). The bulk plasma conditions have been independently characterized using Thomson scattering where the peak electron temperatures are shown to scale with the hohlraum heater beam energy in the range from 2 keV to 3.5 keV. This feature has allowed us to determine the thresholds for both backscattering and filamentation instabilities; the former measured with absolutely calibrated full aperture backscatter and near backscatter diagnostics and the latter with a transmitted beam diagnostics. Comparing the experimental results with detailed gain calculations for the onset of significant laser scattering processes shows that these results are relevant for the outer beams in ignition hohlraum experiments corresponding to a gain threshold for stimulated Brillouin scattering of 15. By increasing the gas fill density in these experiments further accesses inner beam ignition hohlraum conditions. In this case, stimulated Raman scattering dominates the backscattering processes. They show that scattering is small for gains smaller than 20, which can be achieved through proper choice of the laser beam intensity
Ion-Collision Emission Excitation Cross Sections for Xenon Electric Thruster Plasmas
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76738/1/AIAA-33657-821.pd
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Experimental basis for laser-plasma interactions in ignition hohlraums at the National Ignition Facility
A series of laser plasma interaction experiments at OMEGA (LLE, Rochester) using gas-filled hohlraums shed light on the behavior of stimulated Raman scattering and stimulated Brillouin scattering at various plasma conditions encountered in indirect drive ignition designs. We present detailed experimental results that quantify the density, temperature, and intensity thresholds for both of these instabilities. In addition to controlling plasma parameters, the National Ignition Campaign relies on optical beam smoothing techniques to mitigate backscatter. We show that polarization smoothing is effective at controlling backscatter. These results provide an experimental basis for forthcoming experiments on National Ignition Facility
Observation of a Reflected Shock in an Indirectly Driven Spherical Implosion at the National Ignition Facility
A 200  μm radius hot spot at more than 2 keV temperature, 1  g/cm[superscript 3] density has been achieved on the National Ignition Facility using a near vacuum hohlraum. The implosion exhibits ideal one-dimensional behavior and 99% laser-to-hohlraum coupling. The low opacity of the remaining shell at bang time allows for a measurement of the x-ray emission of the reflected central shock in a deuterium plasma. Comparison with 1D hydrodynamic simulations puts constraints on electron-ion collisions and heat conduction. Results are consistent with classical (Spitzer-Harm) heat flux.United States. Dept. of Energy (Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344)Brookhaven National Laboratory (Laboratory Directed Research and Development Grant 11-ERD-050
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