Fast ignition by detonation in a hydrodynamic flow

A general concept of fast ignition by a hydrodynamic pulse is developed. The main statements of the concept are formulated having in mind the need to ignite the pre-compressed thermonuclear fuel of the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target. Initially, combustion must be initiated inside the hydrodynamic flow during its action on the target. The conditions for propagating a self-sustaining thermonuclear-detonation wave from an igniter on the thermonuclear fuel of the ICF-target must be provided. For this, the deuterium–tritium (DT) igniter placed in the forward part of the hydrodynamic flow should not only be heated up to thermonuclear temperature, but also compressed to a density close to the density of the ICF-target fuel. It is shown that the detonation of the multilayer conical target (containing DT-ice and a heavy pusher) enables fast ignition of the ICF target fuel of 200–500 g/cm³ density at an implosion velocity of 300–500 km/s.     

Study of Coulomb collisional effects on the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a turbulent plasma

The presence of Weibel instability in laser-irradiated fuel could be detrimental to the process of ablative implosion, which is necessary for achieving thermonuclear fusion reactions. In this paper, the effect of the Coulomb collisional within the turbulent plasma on the Weibel instability growth rate has been investigated for linear and circular polarization. The results indicate that the Weibel instability growth rate at circular polarization near the ignition centre of the fuel fusion (collisional plasma) is about 10⁵ times higher than the collisional Weibel instability growth rate at linear polarization. The Weibel instability growth rate is observed near the critical density of the fuel fusion (collisionless plasma) at linear polarization and enhancement near the foot of the heat in front of the fuel fusion. By increasing the steps of the density gradient plasma in the low-density corona, electromagnetic instability occurs at a higher stress flow. Therefore, the deposition condition of electron beam energy in circular polarization of turbulent plasma can be shifted to the fuel core for suitable ignition.     

压缩氘氚球的热核燃烧特性研究

本文利用LARED-S程序模拟了等密度和等压力条件下压缩氘氚球的热核反应燃烧过程.对于等密度模型,模拟了两个具体算例,与国外计算结果进行了比较,验证了程序的可靠性.对于等压力模型,利用数值模拟给出了热核反应燃烧与压缩氘氚球初始状态之间的关系曲线,分析发现,氘氚装量、压力和主燃料密度的增加有利于提高热核反应放能和燃耗,中心热斑的温度和面密度分别达到70—80 MK和3—4 kg·m^-2时热核反应才有显著的放能,提高主燃料密度,可以适当放宽对中心热斑的点火要求.最后对实际点火靶进行了数值模拟并且与等压力模拟计算结果进行了比较分析.     

压缩氘氚球的热核燃烧特性研究

本文利用LARED-S程序模拟了等密度和等压力条件下压缩氘氚球的热核反应燃烧过程.对于等密度模型,模拟了两个具体算例,与国外计算结果进行了比较,验证了程序的可靠性.对于等压力模型,利用数值模拟给出了热核反应燃烧与压缩氘氚球初始状态之间的关系曲线,分析发现,氘氚装量、压力和主燃料密度的增加有利于提高热核反应放能和燃耗,中心热斑的温度和面密度分别达到70—80 MK和3—4 kg·m^-2时热核反应才有显著的放能,提高主燃料密度,可以适当放宽对中心热斑的点火要求.最后对实际点火靶进行了数值模拟并且与等压力模拟计算结果进行了比较分析. 关键词： 压缩氘氚球 等密度模型 等压力模型 热核反应聚变     

Thermonuclear gain of a two-cascade laser-fusion target

One-dimensional numerical calculations are used to explore the possibility of thermonuclear fuel “ignition” (achieving an energy gainG ～ 1) in two-cascade laser-fusion targets with a relatively small aspect ratio for the inner shell. It is demonstrated that the parameters of the laser-produced thermonuclear plasma for a laser pulse energy of 200 kJ, various wavelengths of the laser radiation, and a simple pulse shape closely correspond to the “ignition” state for a target with an inner shell having an aspect ratio of ～ 3–10. This is indicative of the high energy efficiency of two-cascade targets that appear to be characterized by high reliability with respect to evolution of hydrodynamic instabilities.     

The influence of the state of a compressed thermonuclear substance on the combustion of inertial fusion targets under direct ignition by a short radiation pulse

One-dimensional numerical calculations were performed to study the dependence of conditions for initiating thermonuclear combustion and of the target gain of direct-ignition inertial fusion targets ignited by a short radiation pulse on the initial temperature of a preliminarily compressed fuel and the initial heat energy distribution between plasma electrons and ions in the ignition region (igniter). The igniter parameters at which an effective thermonuclear target explosion with a G ～ 10³ target gain occurred were shown to substantially depend on the initial temperature of the major fuel fraction and the initial heat energy distribution between igniter electrons and ions. The heat energy of the igniter passed a minimum as the size of the igniter decreased. The dependences of these minimum energies on the temperature of the major fuel fraction at various initial energy distributions between igniter electrons and ions were determined. An increase in the temperature of the major fuel fraction was shown to decrease the target gain.     

The “Del'fin” high-power laser facility for heating spherical thermonuclear targets

The Del'fin H twelve-channel laser facility for high-temperature heating of thermonuclear targets in a spherical geometry is described. It consists of a neodymium driver laser with maximum energy ~10 kJ, pulse duration 10^-10–10^-9 sec, andbeam divergence ~5·10^–4 rad, a vacuum chamber in which the laser radiation interacts with the plasma, and the devices for the diagnostics of the laser and plasma parameters. The Del'fin focusing system, which ensures a high degree of symmetry of the spherical irradiation of the target at a maximum flux density on its surface ~10¹⁵ W/cm², is described. The problem of realizing the maximum ability of heating spherical thermonuclear targets by radiation from high-power laser systems is considered.Translated from Trudy Ordena Lenina Fizicheskogo Instituta im. P.N. Lebedeva, Vol. 103, pp. 3–51, 1978.     

On the possibility of target plasma ignition under the conditions of inertial nuclear fusion

The thermonuclear gain G for bulk and spark ignitions are calculated using a mathematical simulation of thermonuclear combustion in a DT plasma of laser targets for various parameters of the target plasma and (isobaric and isochoric) ignitors. The critical parameters of ignitors at which an effective nuclear burst occurs with G ～ 100 are calculated. It is shown that a further increase in the temperature and size of the ignitors virtually does not affect the efficiency of DT fuel burnup. Irrespective of the ignition technique, the value of G can be estimated with the help of a simple asymptotic formula. At the same time, the critical parameters of ignitors are determined to a considerable extent by the mode of ignition and by the target parameters. Spark ignition with an isochoric ignitor corresponding to the fast ignition mode is considered in detail. It is shown that the main critical parameter for optimal isochoric ignitors is their thermal energy liberated upon absorption of an auxiliary ultrashort laser pulse. The critical values of this energy are calculated.     

Errata

Angular distributions of protons emitted in the (e, e'p) reaction on ⁴⁰Ca at an incident electron energy of 710 MeV and for missing energies e_m = 39 MeV and E_M = 81 MeV are presented. The interpretation of these angular distributions in terms of momentum distributions for the struck protons in the original target nucleus indicates l ≠ 0 protons at E_M = 39 MeV and l = 0 protons at E_M = 81 MeV. Finally (p, 2p) and (e, e'p) results in calcium are compared.     

激光聚变冲击点火物理特性研究

冲击点火是一种新型的惯性约束聚变点火方案,该点火方案具有低点火能量阈值、高增益和较好的流体力学稳定性等优点.本文针对冲击点火的物理特性进行理论分析和数值模拟.首先以一维平板模型对冲击波碰撞的物理过程进行理论研究和分析;然后通过辐射流体力学数值模拟对冲击点火的物理特性进行研究,验证理论分析结果,并考察冲击加载时间对点火的影响. 关键词： 冲击点火 冲击波碰撞 辐射流体力学模拟     

Status and prospects of controlled thermonuclear fusion

Of all approaches to controlled thermonuclear fusion the tokamak experiments have been most successful. Over the last decade particularly three large devices have achieved plasma density,n, temperature,T, and energy confinement time, _E, in ranges necessary for a fusion reactor plasma. Such maximum values have, however, been obtained not yet simultaneously but only in separate pulses, although the crucial triple product,nT _E, has also been improved by several orders of magnitude. The high temperatures sufficient in a fusion reactor can be produced by injection of neutral atoms or by absorption of radio frequency waves in the ion cyclotron frequency range. The plasma confinement ( _E1s) is still not understood and is handled through empirical scaling laws. Particle densities have usually been on the low side (n5×10¹⁹ m^–3) because increased fuelling rates can easily lead to violent current disruptions. Progress in obtaining peaked density profiles with pellet injection has led to high density plasmas without disruptions. Serious unsolved problems concern the spoiling of the fusion rates by (nonhydrogenic) impurities, the plasma parameter control over longer periods of time and indeed the plasma heating by fusion alpha-particles (ignition, burning). The most urgent technological question refers to the lifetime of the first wall which is in direct contact with the plasma. An important step towards ignition has been made by the recent JET/DT experiments in which, for the first time, the actual reactor fuel component tritium has been used to produce neutrons. The next generation tokamak ITER is, at present, being planned and designed in a world-wide collaborative effort. It should be operating before the year 2010 and is intended to investigate an ignited plasma burning for several minutes.     

Effect of the initial phase state of DT-matter on the compression of inertial fusion targets

We investigate the efficiency of inertial fusion target compression, where at the initial time moment the thermonuclear fuel is in a two-phase state and has the form of two adjacent layers — the external DT-liquid layer and the internal DT-ice layer. We study this problem for the fast ignition targets, where the ultimate final density of the thermonuclear matter is of a special importance. We take the simplest type of a fast ignition target, which corresponds to the technical justification of the HiPER Project aimed at demonstrating fast ignition at the compressing laser pulse energy ~100 kJ. Such a target presents a spherical DT-ice shell coated with a thin polymer film. We obtain the dependence of the final target density on the mass fraction of the DT-matter liquid phase and formulate the requirements on the admissible concentration of liquid phase if the decrease in the DT-fuel final density does not exceed 10%. We find the criterion for choosing the laser-pulse duration which provides the minimum decrease in the final density of the target containing DT-matter in the initial two-phase state.     

Shock ignition of thermonuclear fuel with high areal density

A novel method by C. Zhou and R. Betti [Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 50, 140 (2005)] to assemble and ignite thermonuclear fuel is presented. Massive cryogenic shells are first imploded by direct laser light with a low implosion velocity and on a low adiabat leading to fuel assemblies with large areal densities. The assembled fuel is ignited from a central hot spot heated by the collision of a spherically convergent ignitor shock and the return shock. The resulting fuel assembly features a hot-spot pressure greater than the surrounding dense fuel pressure. Such a nonisobaric assembly requires a lower energy threshold for ignition than the conventional isobaric one. The ignitor shock can be launched by a spike in the laser power or by particle beams. The thermonuclear gain can be significantly larger than in conventional isobaric ignition for equal driver energy.     

Propagation of ion shock in solid DT target with nonlinear force-driven plasma blocks

The plasma block (piston) with pressure P ₁ is generated as a result of the nonlinear (ponderomotive) force in laser–plasma interaction. The plasma block can be used for the ignition of a fusion flame front in a solid density deuterium–tritium (DT) target by compressing the fuel that creates an ion shock propagating with velocity u _{ion? shock} in the inside of a solid DT target. The ignition is achieved by creating an ion shock during the final stages of the implosion. We estimated the effect of an ion shock in solid DT target at an early stage with no compression and at the last stage with compression, where density increases by a factor of solid-state density. According to the theoretical model, a large target with a very thin layer of fuel (high-aspect ratio target) would be ideal to obtain the very strong shocks. Results indicate that the maximum compression even by an infinitely strong single shock can never produce more than four times the initial density of DT fuel. The results reported that the threshold ignition energy in a solid DT target is reduced by a factor of 4.     

Image-potential surface states on Ag(100): A reinvestigation

Employing inverse photoemission we have remeasured the energy dispersionE(k) of the lowest-lying image state on Ag(100) with improved energy resolution (electrons and photons, E=0.35 eV) andk-resolution (k<0.1 Å^–1). In a least-square fit with the binding energyE _B atk=0 and the effective massm ^* as parameters we obtainE _B =E _vac –0.67 eV andm ^*=1.5 m in agreement with our earlier findings but differing from the two-photon photoemission values (0.53 eV and 1.15 m).     

Microwave discharge on a dielectric surface in vacuum

The paper describes the results of investigation of a discharge arising in vacuum on the surface of solid dielectric materials when irradiated by intense (up to 25 MW/cm²) electromagnetic centimeter wave radiation. When the density of the microwave energy flux exceeds some threshold value depending on the target material, a discharge emerges in the vicinity of the surface. Its emergence is associated with the evaporation of the target material and the breakdown of evaporated matter. The thus forming plasma initially has the form of a thin (on the wavelength scale) layer with the electron density of the order of 10¹⁶ cm^?3. It is demonstrated experimentally that effective generation of multiply charged ions occurs in the plasma. The measured energy distribution of ions in expanding plasma agrees with the predicted distribution obtained in solving the problem on quasineutral expansion into vacuum of a localized bunch of collisionless plasma with cold ions.     

Excitation spectrum for nuclear matter

Properties of an infinite nuclear matter of interacting alpha-particle have been studied. The expression obtained for the excitation spectrum exhibits the existence of the energy gap in the nuclear matter. The energy gap changes withm _* /m , the ratio between effective and true mass of an alpha-particle, and it seems to disappear for higher values ofm _* /m .On leave of absence fromK.G.K. College, Moradabad (U.P.) India.We are highly thankful to Prof. S. Duttamajumdar for valuable comments, and to the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, for financial assistance.     

Amplifier module of the “Del'fin” facility for thermonuclear plasma heating

The construction principle and the applicable system are considered for the highpower laser amplifier module of the “Del'fin” facility, intended for spherical heating of thermonuclear targets. Results are presented of investigations of the radiation parameters of the amplifier module under various operating regimes. The system for focusing the laser radiation on the target surfaces is described and the results of experiments on plasma heating by radiation of three composite laser beams, at a laser energy level up to 1 kJ at a flux density up to 10¹⁴ W/cm², are analyzed.     

Investigation of the mass dependence of self-diffusion coefficients by molecular dynamics calculations: comparison with the Enskog theory

The dependence of the Enskog self-diffusion coefficients D_i,E on mass ratios m_i* = m_i/m₁ in hard sphere mixtures is described by exponential expressions of the form D_i,E = D⁰ _i,E(m*₂)eX_i,E in the case of binary mixtures and D_i,E = D⁰ _iE (m*₂)eX_i,E(m*₃)eXt_i,E in the case of ternary mixtures. D⁰ _i,E are the self-diffusion coefficients in reference mixtures with m*₂ = m*₃ = 1. ex_i,E (i = 1,2) and ext_i,E (i = 1,2,3) are the so called Enskog exponents of binary and ternary mixtures, respectively. Their dependence on particle mass and diameter, mole fraction, density and temperature is discussed and compared with corresponding results of molecular dynamics calculations.     

Nuclear matter properties in relativistic mean-field model with σ- ω coupling

The σ-ω coupling is introduced phenomenologically in the linear σ-ω model to study the nuclear matter properties. It is shown that not only the effective nucleon mass M^* but also the effective σ meson mass m _σ ^* and the effective ω meson mass m _ω ^* are nucleon-density-dependent. When the model parameters are fitted to the nuclear saturation point, with the nuclear radius constant r ₀ = 1.14 fm and volume energy a ₁ = 16.0 MeV, as well as to the effective nucleon mass M ^* = 0.85M, the model yields m _σ ^* = 1.09m _σ and m _ω ^* = 0.90m _ω at the saturation point, and the nuclear incompressibility K ₀ = 501 MeV. The lowest value of K₀ given by this model by adjusting the model parameters is around 227 MeV. Received: 23 March 2001 / Accepted: 8 June 2001