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Laser–plasma interactions for fast ignition

Journal Article · · Nuclear Fusion
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [1];  [6];  [7]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  2. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Inst. of Superior Tecnico (IST), Lisbon (Portugal)
  3. Univ. Politecnica de Madrid (Spain)
  4. Hiroshima Univ. (Japan). The Graduate School of Engineering
  5. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
  6. Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States)
  7. Inst. of Superior Tecnico (IST), Lisbon (Portugal)

In the electron-driven fast-ignition approach to inertial confinement fusion, petawatt laser pulses are required to generate MeV electrons that deposit several tens of kilojoules in the compressed core of an imploded DT shell. We review recent progress in the understanding of intense laser- plasma interactions (LPI) relevant to fast ignition. Increases in computational and modeling capabilities, as well as algorithmic developments have led to enhancement in our ability to perform multidimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of LPI at relevant scales. We discuss the physics of the interaction in terms of laser absorption fraction, the laser-generated electron spectra, divergence, and their temporal evolution. Scaling with irradiation conditions such as laser intensity, f-number and wavelength are considered, as well as the dependence on plasma parameters. Different numerical modeling approaches and configurations are addressed, providing an overview of the modeling capabilities and limitations. In addition, we discuss the comparison of simulation results with experimental observables. In particular, we address the question of surrogacy of today's experiments for the full-scale fast ignition problem.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1240067
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 22327961
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--626438
Journal Information:
Nuclear Fusion, Journal Name: Nuclear Fusion Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 54; ISSN 0029-5515
Publisher:
IOP ScienceCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (10)

Petawatt laser absorption bounded journal June 2014
Observation of 1-D time dependent non-propagating laser plasma structures using fluid and PIC codes journal December 2017
Generation of keV hot near-solid density plasma states at high contrast laser-matter interaction journal August 2018
Energy distribution of fast electrons accelerated by high intensity laser pulse depending on laser pulse duration journal May 2016
Dense plasma heating by crossing relativistic electron beams journal January 2017
Channel optimization of high-intensity laser beams in millimeter-scale plasmas journal April 2018
Scaling the Yield of Laser-Driven Electron-Positron Jets to Laboratory Astrophysical Applications journal May 2015
Petawatt laser absorption bounded text January 2014
Scaling the Yield of Laser-Driven Electron-Positron Jets to Laboratory Astrophysical Applications text January 2015
Observation of 1-D time dependent non-propagating laser plasma structures using Fluid and PIC codes text January 2017

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