The 1990 National Academy of Science final report of its review of the Inertial Confinement Fusion Program recommended completion of a series of target physics objectives on the 10-beam Nova laser at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as the highest-priority prerequisite for proceeding with construction of an ignition-scale laser facility, now called the National Ignition Facility (NIF). These objectives were chosen to demonstrate that there was sufficient understanding of the physics of ignition targets that the laser requirements for laboratory ignition could be accurately specified. This research on Nova, as well as additional research on the Omega laser at the University of Rochester, is the subject of this review. The objectives of the U.S. indirect-drive target physics program have been to experimentally demonstrate and predictively model hohlraum characteristics, as well as capsule performance in targets that have been scaled in key physics variables from NIF targets. To address the hohlrau...

The physics basis for ignition using indirect-drive targets on the National Ignition Facility

Accurate x-ray scattering techniques to measure the physical properties of dense plasmas have been developed for applications in high energy density physics. This class of experiments produces short-lived hot dense states of matter with electron densities in the range of solid density and higher where powerful penetrating x-ray sources have become available for probing. Experiments have employed laser-based x-ray sources that provide sufficient photon numbers in narrow bandwidth spectral lines, allowing spectrally resolved x-ray scattering measurements from these plasmas. The backscattering spectrum accesses the noncollective Compton scattering regime which provides accurate diagnostic information on the temperature, density, and ionization state. The forward scattering spectrum has been shown to measure the collective plasmon oscillations. Besides extracting the standard plasma parameters, density and temperature, forward scattering yields new observables such as a direct measure of collisions and quantum effects. Dense matter theory relates scattering spectra with the dielectric function and structure factors that determine the physical properties of matter. Applications to radiation-heated and shock-compressed matter have demonstrated accurate measurements of compression and heating with up to picosecond temporal resolution. The ongoing development of suitable x-ray sources and facilities will enable experiments in a wide range of research areas including inertial confinement fusion,more » radiation hydrodynamics, material science, or laboratory astrophysics.« less

X-ray Thomson scattering in high energy density plasmas

Indirect-drive hohlraum experiments at the National Ignition Facility have demonstrated symmetric capsule implosions at unprecedented laser drive energies of 0.7 megajoule. One hundred and ninety-two simultaneously fired laser beams heat ignition-emulate hohlraums to radiation temperatures of 3.3 million kelvin, compressing 1.8-millimeter-diameter capsules by the soft x-rays produced by the hohlraum. Self-generated plasma optics gratings on either end of the hohlraum tune the laser power distribution in the hohlraum, which produces a symmetric x-ray drive as inferred from the shape of the capsule self-emission. These experiments indicate that the conditions are suitable for compressing deuterium-tritium–filled capsules, with the goal of achieving burning fusion plasmas and energy gain in the laboratory.

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Symmetric inertial confinement fusion implosions at ultra-high laser energies.

In a number of experiments, stimulated Brillouin (SBS) or Raman backscattering (SRS) has been observed to be much more vigorous than the other although the expectations based on linear gain exponents are that they should both be reflecting large amounts of incident light. Multidimensional fluid simulations of the growth and saturation of these two instabilities driven by a nonuniform incident laser beam are presented. On the fast time scale, the nonlinear saturation occurs via an anomalous damping inspired by fundamental studies of Langmuir turbulence [D. F. DuBois et al., Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 41, 1531 (1996)] and acoustic wave turbulence [B. I. Cohen et al., Phys. Plasmas 4, 956 (1997)]. Over a longer time scale, SRS and SBS are limited by quasilinear processes such as flows induced by the transfer of momentum from the light to the plasma and ion temperature increases caused by a loss of light energy in SBS. The simulations show a reduction of the SBS reflectivity under conditions of strong SRS reflectiv...

On the dominant and subdominant behavior of stimulated Raman and Brillouin scattering driven by nonuniform laser beams

Femtosecond laser pulses were used to heat dense matter, converting it into an extremely hot plasma. 52-times ionized gold was achieved as well as gigabar pressures, which can be exceeded only in the central hot spots of thermonuclear fusion plasmas.

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Relativistic plasma nanophotonics for ultrahigh energy density physics

Scattering of laser light by stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is a concern for indirect drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The hohlraum designs for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) raise particular concerns due to the large scale and homogeneity of the plasmas within them. Experiments at Nova have studied laser–plasma interactions within large scale length plasmas that mimic many of the characteristics of the NIF hohlraum plasmas. Filamentation and scattering of laser light by SBS and SRS have been investigated as a function of beam smoothing and plasma conditions. Narrowly collimated SRS backscatter has been observed from low density, low‐Z, plasmas, which are representative of the plasma filling most of the NIF hohlraum. SBS backscatter is found to occur in the high‐Z plasma of gold ablated from the wall. Both SBS and SRS are observed to be at acceptable levels in experiments using smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD).

Laser–plasma interactions in ignition‐scale hohlraum plasmas

Diagnostics have been developed and fielded at the Nova laser facility that, for the first time, image nearly all the light scattered within 20° of the laser axis, including the light collected by the laser focusing lens as well as that just outside the lens. Absolute calibration of optical components exposed to the target debris have been achieved by a combination of routine in situ calibration and maintenance. Measurements from plasmas relevant to ignition experiments indicate that scattering is peaked in the direction of backscatter with significant energy scattered both into the lens and just outside the lens. The scattering outside the lens is found to be dominant when the f number is large (f/8).

A. G. Dulieu

Papers

Laser–plasma interactions in ignition‐scale hohlraum plasmas

Imaging backscattered and near to backscattered light in ignition scale plasmas (invited)