Design of inertial fusion implosions reaching the burning plasma regime

Kritcher, A. L.; Young, C. V.; Robey, H. F.; Weber, C. R.; Zylstra, A. B.; Hurricane, O. A.; Callahan, D. A.; Ralph, J. E.; Ross, J. S.; Baker, K. L.; Casey, D. T.; Clark, D. S.; Döppner, T.; Divol, L.; Hohenberger, M.; Hopkins, L. Berzak; Le Pape, S.; Meezan, N. B.; Pak, A.; Patel, P. K.; Tommasini, R.; Ali, S. J.; Amendt, P. A.; Atherton, L. J.; Bachmann, B.; Bailey, D.; Benedetti, L. R.; Betti, R.; Bhandarkar, S. D.; Biener, J.; Bionta, R. M.; Birge, N. W.; Bond, E. J.; Bradley, D. K.; Braun, T.; Briggs, T. M.; Bruhn, M. W.; Celliers, P. M.; Chang, B.; Chapman, T.; Chen, H.; Choate, C.; Christopherson, A. R.; Crippen, J. W.; Dewald, E. L.; Dittrich, T. R.; Edwards, M. J.; Farmer, W. A.; Field, J. E.; Fittinghoff, D.; Frenje, J. A.; Gaffney, J. A.; Johnson, M. Gatu; Glenzer, S. H.; Grim, G. P.; Haan, S.; Hahn, K. D.; Hall, G. N.; Hammel, B. A.; Harte, J.; Hartouni, E.; Heebner, J. E.; Hernandez, V. J.; Herrmann, H.; Herrmann, M. C.; Hinkel, D. E.; Ho, D. D.; Holder, J. P.; Hsing, W. W.; Huang, H.; Humbird, K. D.; Izumi, N.; Jarrott, L. C.; Jeet, J.; Jones, O.; Kerbel, G. D.; Kerr, S. M.; Khan, S. F.; Kilkenny, J.; Kim, Y.; Geppert-Kleinrath, H.; Geppert-Kleinrath, V.; Kong, C.; Koning, J. M.; Kruse, M. K. G.; Kroll, J. J.; Kustowski, B.; Landen, O. L.; Langer, S.; Larson, D.; Lemos, N. C.; Lindl, J. D.; Ma, T.; MacDonald, M. J.; MacGowan, B. J.; Mackinnon, A. J.; MacLaren, S. A.; MacPhee, A. G.; Marinak, M. M.; Mariscal, D. A.; Marley, E. V.; Masse, L.; Meaney, K.; Michel, P. A.; Millot, M.; Milovich, J. L.; Moody, J. D.; Moore, A. S.; Morton, J. W.; Murphy, T.; Newman, K.; Di Nicola, J. -M. G.; Nikroo, A.; Nora, R.; Patel, M. V.; Pelz, L. J.; Peterson, J. L.; Ping, Y.; Pollock, B. B.; Ratledge, M.; Rice, N. G.; Rinderknecht, H.; Rosen, M.; Rubery, M. S.; Salmonson, J. D.; Sater, J.; Schiaffino, S.; Schlossberg, D. J.; Schneider, M. B.; Schroeder, C. R.; Scott, H. A.; Sepke, S. M.; Sequoia, K.; Sherlock, M. W.; Shin, S.; Smalyuk, V. A.; Spears, B. K.; Springer, P. T.; Stadermann, M.; Stoupin, S.; Strozzi, D. J.; Suter, L. J.; Thomas, C. A.; Town, R. P. J.; Trosseille, C.; Tubman, E. R.; Volegov, P. L.; Widmann, K.; Wild, C.; Wilde, C. H.; Van Wonterghem, B. M.; Woods, D. T.; Woodworth, B. N.; Yamaguchi, M.; Yang, S. T.; Zimmerman, G. B.

doi:10.1038/s41567-021-01485-9

Design of inertial fusion implosions reaching the burning plasma regime

Journal Article · Tue Jan 25 23:00:00 EST 2022 · Nature Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01485-9· OSTI ID:1842238

; ; Robey, H. F.; Weber, C. R.; Zylstra, A. B.; ; Callahan, D. A.; Ralph, J. E.; Ross, J. S.; Baker, K. L.; ; Clark, D. S.; ; Divol, L.; ; Hopkins, L. Berzak; Le Pape, S.; ; Pak, A.; Patel, P. K. more »

Abstract

In a burning plasma state ^1–7 , alpha particles from deuterium–tritium fusion reactions redeposit their energy and are the dominant source of heating. This state has recently been achieved at the US National Ignition Facility ⁸ using indirect-drive inertial-confinement fusion. Our experiments use a laser-generated radiation-filled cavity (a hohlraum) to spherically implode capsules containing deuterium and tritium fuel in a central hot spot where the fusion reactions occur. We have developed more efficient hohlraums to implode larger fusion targets compared with previous experiments ^9,10 . This delivered more energy to the hot spot, whereas other parameters were optimized to maintain the high pressures required for inertial-confinement fusion. We also report improvements in implosion symmetry control by moving energy between the laser beams ^11–16 and designing advanced hohlraum geometry ¹⁷ that allows for these larger implosions to be driven at the present laser energy and power capability of the National Ignition Facility. These design changes resulted in fusion powers of 1.5 petawatts, greater than the input power of the laser, and 170 kJ of fusion energy ^18,19 . Radiation hydrodynamics simulations ^20,21 show energy deposition by alpha particles as the dominant term in the hot-spot energy balance, indicative of a burning plasma state.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: NONE; AC52-06NA25396; AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1842238

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1861998
OSTI ID: 1868286

Journal Information:: Nature Physics, Journal Name: Nature Physics Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 18; ISSN 1745-2473

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: France

Language:: English

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Design of inertial fusion implosions reaching the burning plasma regime

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Design of inertial fusion implosions reaching the burning plasma regime

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