Speaker
Mr
Riccardo Betti
(USA)
Description
Recent advances in the theory of ignition and burn for inertial confinement fusion are presented and related to the experimental observables of the current indirect-drive ignition campaign on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the direct-drive implosion campaign on the OMEGA laser. The performance parameter currently used for the ignition campaign (the Experimental Ignition Threshold Factor or ITFX) is related to the well-known Lawson criterion. Hydro-equivalent curves are derived and used to extrapolate current results from OMEGA to future direct-drive ignition experiments on the NIF. The impact of laser-plasma instabilities, hot electron and radiation preheat on the hydrodynamic scaling is discussed. Remedies to mitigate the detrimental effects of laser-plasma and hydrodynamic instabilities are presented. It is also shown that ignition through a late shock launched at the end of the laser pulse (shock ignition) may be possible on the NIF at sub-megajoule energies.
Country or International Organization of Primary Author
USA
Primary author
Mr
Riccardo Betti
(USA)
