Studies of Plastic-Ablator Compressibility for Direct-Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion on Omega
- Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299 (United States)
The compression of planar plastic targets was studied with x-ray radiography in the range of laser intensities of I{approx}0.5 to 1.5x10{sup 15} W/cm{sup 2} using square (low-compression) and shaped (high-compression) pulses. Two-dimensional simulations with the radiative hydrocode DRACO show good agreement with measurements at laser intensities up to I{approx}10{sup 15} W/cm{sup 2}. These results provide the first experimental evidence for low-entropy, adiabatic compression of plastic shells in the laser intensity regime relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion. A density reduction near the end of the drive at a high intensity of I{approx}1.5x10{sup 15} W/cm{sup 2} has been correlated with the hard x-ray signal caused by hot electrons from two-plasmon-decay instability.
- OSTI ID:
- 21128130
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 100, Issue 18; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.185003; (c) 2008 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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