Validation of thermal-transport modeling with direct-drive, planar-foil acceleration experiments on OMEGA

Efficient energy transport throughout conical implosions

The double-cone ignition (DCI) scheme has been proposed as one of the alternative approaches to inertial confinement fusion, based on direct-drive and fast-ignition, in order to reduce the requirement for the driver energy. To evaluate the conical implosion energetics from the laser beams to the plasma flows, a series of experiments have been systematically conducted. The results indicate that 89%-96% of the laser energy was absorbed by the target, with moderate stimulated Raman scatterings. Here 2%-6% of the laser energy was coupled into the plasma jets ejected from the cone tips, which was mainly restricted by the mass reductions during the implosions inside the cones. The supersonic dense jets with a Mach number of 4 were obtained, which is favorable for forming a high-density, nondegenerated plasma core after the head-on collisions. These findings show encouraging results in terms of energy transport of the conical implosions in the DCI scheme.

Demonstration of enhanced direct-drive implosion efficiency using gradient pulses

Higher implosion efficiency is of great significance in direct-drive fusion research. We demonstrated the critical role played by the intensity gradient of the main drive laser pulse in improving efficiency of direct-drive implosions, using a double-gradient nanosecond pulse. Compared with a square pulse, the burn-through depth was increased by over 200%, and the shell velocity was increased by ∼2.1 times with an optimized double-gradient pulse. As the result, the implosion efficiency was enhanced by ∼ six times. It was found that by limiting the intensity gradient of the main drive pulse to no more than ∼2.5×10^{15}W/(cm^{2}ns), heat flux inhibition by nonlocal electron thermal transport effects could be eliminated, and ultimately an efficient mass ablation process was achieved. These results have relevance for pulse designs in ignition-scale direct-drive implosions.

Experimental measurement of two copropagating shocks interacting with an unstable interface

In this work, we present results from experiments capable of producing and measuring the propagation of multiple successive, copropagating shocks across an unstable planar interface, where the shocks are independently driven and separately controllable, enabling the study of this important phenomenon. Copropagating shocks play a significant role in a wide range of systems involving stratified media subject to a shock, and exhibit different physical characteristics compared to counterpropagating shocks. Existing techniques, however, preclude copropagating shocks, so experiments to date have been limited to the study of counterpropagating shocks. We address this previous limitation and open a physical parameter space for study using a new hohlraum platform on the National Ignition Facility. Initial experimental results are presented together with comparisons from numerical simulations.

Enhancement of pressure perturbations in ablation due to kinetic magnetized transport effects under direct-drive inertial confinement fusion relevant conditions

We present kinetic two-dimensional Vlasov-Fokker-Planck simulations, including both self-consistent magnetic fields and ablating ion outflow, of a planar ablating foil subject to nonuniform laser irradiation. Even for small Hall parameters (ωτ_{ei}≲0.05) self-generated magnetic fields are sufficient to invert and enhance pressure perturbations. The mode inversion is caused by a combination of the Nernst advection of the magnetic field and the Righi-Leduc heat flux. Nonlocal effects modify these processes. The mechanism is robust under plasma conditions tested; it is amplitude independent and occurs for a broad spectrum of perturbation wavelengths, λ_{p}=10-100μm. The ablating plasma response to a dynamically evolving speckle pattern perturbation, analogous to an optically smoothed beam, is also simulated. Similar to the single-mode case, self-generated magnetic fields increase the degree of nonuniformity at the ablation surface by up to an order of magnitude and are found to preferentially enhance lower modes due to the resistive damping of high mode number magnetic fields.

Slowing of Magnetic Reconnection Concurrent with Weakening Plasma Inflows and Increasing Collisionality in Strongly Driven Laser-Plasma Experiments

An evolution of magnetic reconnection behavior, from fast jets to the slowing of reconnection and the establishment of a stable current sheet, has been observed in strongly driven, β≲20 laser-produced plasma experiments. This process has been inferred to occur alongside a slowing of plasma inflows carrying the oppositely directed magnetic fields as well as the evolution of plasma conditions from collisionless to collisional. High-resolution proton radiography has revealed unprecedented detail of the forced interaction of magnetic fields and super-Alfvénic electron jets (V_{jet}∼20V_{A}) ejected from the reconnection region, indicating that two-fluid or collisionless magnetic reconnection occurs early in time. The absence of jets and the persistence of strong, stable magnetic fields at late times indicates that the reconnection process slows down, while plasma flows stagnate and plasma conditions evolve to a cooler, denser, more collisional state. These results demonstrate that powerful initial plasma flows are not sufficient to force a complete reconnection of magnetic fields, even in the strongly driven regime.

Measurements of the Conduction-Zone Length and Mass Ablation Rate in Cryogenic Direct-Drive Implosions on OMEGA

Measurements of the conduction-zone length (110±20  μm at t=2.8  ns), the averaged mass ablation rate of the deuterated plastic (7.95±0.3  μg/ns), shell trajectory, and laser absorption are made in direct-drive cryogenic implosions and are used to quantify the electron thermal transport through the conduction zone. Hydrodynamic simulations that use nonlocal thermal transport and cross-beam energy transfer models reproduce these experimental observables. Hydrodynamic simulations that use a time-dependent flux-limited model reproduce the measured shell trajectory and the laser absorption but underestimate the mass ablation rate by ∼10% and the length of the conduction zone by nearly a factor of 2.

First-principles thermal conductivity of warm-dense deuterium plasmas for inertial confinement fusion applications

Thermal conductivity (κ) of both the ablator materials and deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel plays an important role in understanding and designing inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. The extensively used Spitzer model for thermal conduction in ideal plasmas breaks down for high-density, low-temperature shells that are compressed by shocks and spherical convergence in imploding targets. A variety of thermal-conductivity models have been proposed for ICF hydrodynamic simulations of such coupled and degenerate plasmas. The accuracy of these κ models for DT plasmas has recently been tested against first-principles calculations using the quantum molecular-dynamics (QMD) method; although mainly for high densities (ρ > 100 g/cm3), large discrepancies in κ have been identified for the peak-compression conditions in ICF. To cover the wide range of density-temperature conditions undergone by ICF imploding fuel shells, we have performed QMD calculations of κ for a variety of deuterium densities of ρ = 1.0 to 673.518 g/cm3, at temperatures varying from T = 5 × 103 K to T = 8 × 106 K. The resulting κQMD of deuterium is fitted with a polynomial function of the coupling and degeneracy parameters Γ and θ, which can then be used in hydrodynamic simulation codes. Compared with the "hybrid" Spitzer-Lee-More model currently adopted in our hydrocode lilac, the hydrosimulations using the fitted κQMD have shown up to ∼20% variations in predicting target performance for different ICF implosions on OMEGA and direct-drive-ignition designs for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The lower the adiabat of an imploding shell, the more variations in predicting target performance using κQMD. Moreover, the use of κQMD also modifies the shock conditions and the density-temperature profiles of the imploding shell at early implosion stage, which predominantly affects the final target performance. This is in contrast to the previous speculation that κQMD changes mainly the inside ablation process during the hot-spot formation of an ICF implosion.

Mitigating laser imprint in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion implosions with high-Z dopants

Nonuniformities seeded by both long- and short-wavelength laser perturbations can grow via Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion, leading to performance reduction in low-adiabat implosions. To mitigate the effect of laser imprinting on target performance, spherical RT experiments have been performed on OMEGA using Si- or Ge-doped plastic targets in a cone-in-shell configuration. Compared to a pure plastic target, radiation preheating from these high-Z dopants (Si/Ge) increases the ablation velocity and the standoff distance between the ablation front and laser-deposition region, thereby reducing both the imprinting efficiency and the RT growth rate. Experiments showed a factor of 2-3 reduction in the laser-imprinting efficiency and a reduced RT growth rate, leading to significant (3-5 times) reduction in the σ(rms) of shell ρR modulation for Si- or Ge-doped targets. These features are reproduced by radiation-hydrodynamics simulations using the two-dimensional hydrocode DRACO.

Effects of electron-ion temperature equilibration on inertial confinement fusion implosions

The electron-ion temperature relaxation essentially affects both the laser absorption in coronal plasmas and the hot-spot formation in inertial confinement fusion (ICF). It has recently been reexamined for plasma conditions closely relevant to ICF implosions using either classical molecular-dynamics simulations or analytical methods. To explore the electron-ion temperature equilibration effects on ICF implosion performance, we have examined two Coulomb logarithm models by implementing them into our hydrocodes, and we have carried out hydrosimulations for ICF implosions. Compared to the Lee-More model that is currently used in our standard hydrocodes, the two models predict substantial differences in laser absorption, coronal temperatures, and neutron yields for ICF implosions at the OMEGA Laser Facility [Boehly et al. Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)]. Such effects on the triple-picket direct-drive design at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have also been explored. Based on the validity of the two models, we have proposed a combined model of the electron-ion temperature-relaxation rate for the overall ICF plasma conditions. The hydrosimulations using the combined model for OMEGA implosions have shown ∼6% more laser absorption, ∼6%-15% higher coronal temperatures, and ∼10% more neutron yield, when compared to the Lee-More model prediction. It is also noticed that the gain for the NIF direct-drive design can be varied by ∼10% among the different electron-ion temperature-relaxation models.

Strong coupling and degeneracy effects in inertial confinement fusion implosions

Accurate knowledge about the equation of state (EOS) of deuterium is critical to inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Low-adiabat ICF implosions routinely access strongly coupled and degenerate plasma conditions. Using the path integral Monte Carlo method, we have derived a first-principles EOS (FPEOS) table of deuterium. It is the first ab initio EOS table which completely covers typical ICF implosion trajectory in the density and temperature ranges of ρ=0.002-1596  g/cm3 and T=1.35  eV-5.5  keV. Discrepancies in internal energy and pressure have been found in strongly coupled and degenerate regimes with respect to SESAME EOS. Hydrodynamics simulations of cryogenic ICF implosions using the FPEOS table have indicated significant differences in peak density, areal density (ρR), and neutron yield relative to SESAME simulations.

Rayleigh-Taylor growth measurements in the acceleration phase of spherical implosions on OMEGA

The Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) growth of 3D broadband nonuniformities was measured using x-ray radiography in spherical plastic shells accelerated by laser light at an intensity of approximately 2 x 10(14) W/cm(2). The 20- and 24-microm-thick spherical shells were imploded with 54 beams on the OMEGA laser system. The shells contained diagnostic openings for backlighter x rays used to image shell modulations. The measured shell trajectories and modulation RT growth were in fair agreement with 2D hydro simulations during the acceleration phase of the implosions with convergence ratios of up to approximately 2.2. Since the ignition designs rely on these simulations, improvements in the numerical codes will be implemented to achieve better agreement with experiments.