Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is an approach to fusion that relies on the inertia of the fuel mass to provide confinement. To achieve conditions under which inertial confinement is sufficient for efficient thermonuclear burn, a capsule (generally a spherical shell) containing thermonuclear fuel is compressed in an implosion process to conditions of high density and temperature. ICF capsules rely on either electron conduction (direct drive) or x rays (indirect drive) for energy transport to drive an implosion. In direct drive, the laser beams (or charged particle beams) are aimed directly at a target. The laser energy is transferred to electrons by means of inverse bremsstrahlung or a variety of plasma collective processes. In indirect drive, the driver energy (from laser beams or ion beams) is first absorbed in a high‐Z enclosure (a hohlraum), which surrounds the capsule. The material heated by the driver emits x rays, which drive the capsule implosion. For optimally designed targets, 70%–80% of the d...

/pdf/development-of-the-indirect-drive-approach-to-inertial-314a4yq250.pdf

Development of the indirect‐drive approach to inertial confinement fusion and the target physics basis for ignition and gain

The advent of ultraintense laser pulses generated by the technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) along with the development of high-fluence laser materials has opened up an entirely new field of optics. The electromagnetic field intensities produced by these techniques, in excess of ${10}^{18}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{W}∕{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, lead to relativistic electron motion in the laser field. The CPA method is reviewed and the future growth of laser technique is discussed, including the prospect of generating the ultimate power of a zettawatt. A number of consequences of relativistic-strength optical fields are surveyed. In contrast to the nonrelativistic regime, these laser fields are capable of moving matter more effectively, including motion in the direction of laser propagation. One of the consequences of this is wakefield generation, a relativistic version of optical rectification, in which longitudinal field effects could be as large as the transverse ones. In addition to this, other effects may occur, including relativistic focusing, relativistic transparency, nonlinear modulation and multiple harmonic generation, and strong coupling to matter and other fields (such as high-frequency radiation). A proper utilization of these phenomena and effects leads to the new technology of relativistic engineering, in which light-matter interactions in the relativistic regime drives the development of laser-driven accelerator science. A number of significant applications are reviewed, including the fast ignition of an inertially confined fusion target by short-pulsed laser energy and potential sources of energetic particles (electrons, protons, other ions, positrons, pions, etc.). The coupling of an intense laser field to matter also has implications for the study of the highest energies in astrophysics, such as ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, with energies in excess of ${10}^{20}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$. The laser fields can be so intense as to make the accelerating field large enough for general relativistic effects (via the equivalence principle) to be examined in the laboratory. It will also enable one to access the nonlinear regime of quantum electrodynamics, where the effects of radiative damping are no longer negligible. Furthermore, when the fields are close to the Schwinger value, the vacuum can behave like a nonlinear medium in much the same way as ordinary dielectric matter expanded to laser radiation in the early days of laser research.

/pdf/optics-in-the-relativistic-regime-4n43x5jaaf.pdf

Optics in the relativistic regime

Part I. Astronomical Background: 1. High energy astrophysics - an introduction 2. The stars and stellar evolution 3. The galaxies 4. Clusters of galaxies Part II. Physical Processes: 5. Ionisation losses 6. Radiation of accelerated charged particles and bremsstrahlung of electrons 7. The dynamics of charged particles in magnetic fields 8. Synchrotron radiation 9. Interactions of high energy photons 10. Nuclear interactions 11. Aspects of plasma physics and magnetohydrodynamics Part III. High Energy Astrophysics in our Galaxy: 12. Interstellar gas and magnetic fields 13. Dead stars 14. Accretion power in astrophysics 15. Cosmic rays 16. The origin of cosmic rays in our galaxy 17. The acceleration of high energy particles Part IV. Extragalactic High Energy Astrophysics: 18. Active galaxies 19. Black holes in the nuclei of galaxies 20. The vicinity of the black hole 21. Extragalactic radio sources 22. Compact extragalactic sources and superluminal motions 23. Cosmological aspects of high energy astrophysics Appendix References Index.

High Energy Astrophysics

http://absimage.aps.org/image/DAMOP12/MWS_DAMOP12-2012-000066.pdf

Optics in the Relativistic Regime

We study in this paper the different physical processes involved in laser‐produced plasma in confined geometry. With this technique, a laser irradiates a target at an intensity of a few GW/cm2, and the produced plasma is confined by a transparent overlay to the laser which covers this target. This configuration has appeared necessary for example for metallurgical applications where, for a given laser energy, enhanced pressures must be realized in order to achieve high shock pressures. Therefore, a physical study of this method is useful in order to optimize this technique. We have first developed an analytical model which describes the different steps involved in this process, points out the interest of this technique, and compares it to the direct ablation regime. In the first stage, during the laser heating, the generated pressure is typically 4–10 times greater than the corresponding one obtained in direct ablation. The second step begins after the switch‐off of the laser and is characterized by an adiabatic cooling of the plasma which maintains the applied pressure over a period which is about 2 times the laser‐pulse duration. Finally, the third stage concerns also the adiabatic cooling of the recombined plasma, but during this period the exerted pressure is too small to realize a plastic deformation of the material. We show that the impulse momentum given to the target is mainly generated during this step. This model allows us to also determine the velocities of thin foils accelerated with confined plasmas, and we show that very high hydrodynamic efficiencies can be achieved by this technique. Experimentally, we measured with quartz gauges, the pressures obtained in confined geometry, for 30‐, 3‐, and 0.6‐ns laser‐pulse duration. This study shows that short pulse durations are sensitive to the initial roughness of the interface, and such an effect should be suppressed by using a liquid confinement. Then, we conclude that a large fraction of the absorbed laser energy (80%–90%) is used for the ionization of the medium in these conditions of irradiation. Finally, we experimentally point out that the laser‐induced breakdown of the confining medium is the main mechanism which limits the generated pressure and show the influence of the laser‐pulse duration on this effect.

Physical study of laser-produced plasma in confined geometry

: Contents: Elements of gas dynamics and classical theory of shock waves; thermal radiation and radiant heat exchange in a medium; thermodynamic properties of gases at high temperatures; shock tubes; absorption and emission of radiation in gases at high temperatures; speed of relaxation processes in gases; structure of front of shock waves in gases; physico-chemical kinetics in hydrodynamic processes; light phenomena in shock waves and during strong explosion in air; thermal waves; shock waves in solids; certain self-similar processes in gas dynamics.

Stephen P. Gill

Papers

Physics of Shock Waves and High-Temperature Hydrodynamic Phenomena