Whole-beam self-focusing in fusion-relevant plasma | Zendy

B. T. Spiers | Zendy; M. P. Hill | Zendy; C. M. Brown | Zendy; L. Ceurvorst | Zendy; Naren Ratan | Zendy; A. F. Savin | Zendy; P. Allan | Zendy; E. Floyd | Zendy; J. Fyrth | Zendy; L. M. R. Hobbs | Zendy; S. F. James | Zendy; James J. D. Luis | Zendy; Martin Ramsay | Zendy; N J Sircombe | Zendy; J. Skidmore | Zendy; Ramy Aboushelbaya | Zendy; M. W. Mayr | Zendy; R. W. Paddock | Zendy; R. H. W. Wang | Zendy; P. A. Norreys | Zendy

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Whole-beam self-focusing in fusion-relevant plasma

Author(s) -

B. T. Spiers,

M. P. Hill,

C. M. Brown,

L. Ceurvorst,

Naren Ratan,

A. F. Savin,

P. Allan,

E. Floyd,

J. Fyrth,

L. M. R. Hobbs,

S. F. James,

James J. D. Luis,

Martin Ramsay,

N J Sircombe,

J. Skidmore,

Ramy Aboushelbaya,

M. W. Mayr,

R. W. Paddock,

R. H. W. Wang,

P. A. Norreys

Publication year - 2020

Publication title -

philosophical transactions of the royal society a mathematical physical and engineering sciences

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 1.074

H-Index - 169

eISSN - 1471-2962

pISSN - 1364-503X

DOI - 10.1098/rsta.2020.0159

Subject(s) - inertial confinement fusion , ignition system , plasma , national ignition facility , laser , physics , fusion , optics , beam (structure) , fusion power , magnetic field , plasma channel , interferometry , magnetic confinement fusion , computational physics , materials science , tokamak , nuclear physics , linguistics , philosophy , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics

Fast ignition inertial confinement fusion requires the production of a low-density channel in plasma with density scale-lengths of several hundred microns. The channel assists in the propagation of an ultra-intense laser pulse used to generate fast electrons which form a hot spot on the side of pre-compressed fusion fuel. We present a systematic characterization of an expanding laser-produced plasma using optical interferometry, benchmarked against three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Magnetic fields associated with channel formation are probed using proton radiography, and compared to magnetic field structures generated in full-scale particle-in-cell simulations. We present observations of long-lived, straight channels produced by the Habara–Kodama–Tanaka whole-beam self-focusing mechanism, overcoming a critical barrier on the path to realizing fast ignition. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 2)’.

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