Natalia S. Krasheninnikova

Development of a polar direct-drive platform for studying inertial confinement fusion implosion mix on the National Ignition Facilitya)

Experiments were performed to develop a platform for the simultaneous measurement of mix and its effects on fusion burn. Two polar direct drive implosions of all-plastic capsules were conducted for the first time on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). To measure implosion trajectory and symmetry, area image backlighting of these capsules was also employed for the first time on NIF, an advance over previous 1-D slit imaging experiments, providing detailed symmetry data of the capsules as they imploded. The implosion trajectory and low-mode asymmetry seen in the resultant radiographs agreed with pre-shot predictions even though the 700 kJ drive energy produced laser beam intensities exceeding laser-plasma instability thresholds. Post-shot simulations indicate that the capsule yield was reduced by a factor of two compared to pre-shot predictions owing to as-shot laser drive asymmetries. The pre-shot predictions of bang time agreed within 200 ps with the experimental results. The second shot incorporated a narrow groove encircling the equator of the capsule. A predicted yield reduction factor of three was not observed.

Scaling of the plasma sheath in a magnetic field parallel to the wall

Motivated by the magnetized target fusion [R. E. Siemon et al., Comments Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 18, 363 (1999)] experiment, a systematic investigation of the scaling of a one-dimensional plasma sheath with a magnetic field parallel to the wall was carried out using analytical theory and the particle-in-cell code VPIC [K. J. Bowers et al., Phys. Plasmas 15, 055703 (2008)]. Starting with a uniform Maxwellian distribution in three-dimensional velocity space, plasma consisting of collisionless electrons, and ions of the same temperature interacts with a perfectly absorbing wall. A much larger ion Larmor radius causes the wall to be charged positively, creating an electric field that tends to repel the ions and attract the electrons, which is the opposite of the conventional Bohm sheath [D. Bohm, Characteristics of Electrical Discharges in Magnetic Fields (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1949)]. This manifests in the form of gyro-orbit modification by this spatially varying electric field, the degree of which i...

Role of shocks and mix caused by capsule defects

An Eulerian code with a turbulent mix model is used to model a set of plastic (CH) ablator capsules with and without equatorial grooves. The “perfect” capsule results were used to calibrate simulations of capsules with equatorial grooves of different depths that provided information on increasingly perturbed implosions. Simulations with a turbulence model were able to calculate the same yield over mix (YOM) ratio (experiment/mix simulation) of 0.2 to 0.3 for thin (8-μm thick) and thick shell (15-μm thick) capsules with no grooves and thin capsules with shallow grooves. When the capsules have deep grooves, the YOM ratio increases to greater than unity, probably because the deformed shocks focus too strongly on the symmetry axis in our two-dimensional simulations. This is supported by a comparison of simulated and experimental x-ray images.

Observation of early shell-dopant mix in OMEGA direct-drive implosions and comparisons with radiation-hydrodynamic simulations

Temporally, spatially, and spectrally resolved x-ray image data from direct-drive implosions on OMEGA were interpreted with the aid of radiation-hydrodynamic simulations. Neither clean calculations nor those using a turbulent mix model can explain fully the observed migration of shell-dopant material (titanium) into the core. Shell-dopant migration was observed via time-dependent, spatially integrated spectra, and spatially and spectrally resolved x-ray images of capsule implosions and resultant dopant emissions. The titanium emission was centrally peaked in narrowband x-ray images. In post-processed clean simulations, the peak titanium emission forms in a ring in self-emission images as the capsule implodes. Post-processed simulations with mix reproduce trends in time-dependent, spatially integrated spectra, as well having centrally peaked Ti emission in synthetic multiple monochromatic imager. However, mix simulations still do not transport Ti to the core as is observed in the experiment. This suggests that phenomena in addition to the turbulent mix must be responsible for the transport of Ti. Simple diffusion estimates are unable to explain the early Ti mix into the core. Mechanisms suggested for further study are capsule surface roughness, illumination non-uniformity, and shock entrainment.

An initial assessment of three-dimensional polar direct drive capsule asymmetries for implosions at the National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) provides a unique opportunity to study implosion physics with nuclear yield. The use of polar direct drive (PDD) [A. M. Cok, R. S. Craxton, and P. W. McKenty, Phys. Plasmas 15, 082705 (2008)] provides a simple platform for the experimental studies without expensive optics upgrades to NIF. To determine the optimum PDD laser pointing geometry on NIF and provide a baseline for validating inertial confinement fusion codes against experiments for symmetric and asymmetric implosions, computer simulations using the 3D radiation-hydrodynamics code hydra [M. M. Marinak, R. E. Tipton, O. L. Landen, T. J. Murphy, P. Amendt, S. W. Haan, S. P. Hatchett, C. J. Keane, R. McEachern, and R. Wallace, Phys. Plasmas 3, 2070 (1996)] were preformed. The upper hemisphere of a DT-filled CH capsule was imploded by 96 NIF beams in a PDD configuration. Asymmetries in both polar and equatorial directions around the capsule were observed, with the former dominating the latter. Analysis of the simu...

Designing symmetric polar direct drive implosions on the Omega laser facility

Achieving symmetric capsule implosions with Polar Direct Drive [S. Skupsky et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 2763 (2004); R. S. Craxton et al., Phys. Plasmas 12, 056304 (2005); F. J. Marshall et al., J. Phys. IV France 133, 153–157 (2006)] has been explored during recent Defect Induced Mix Experiment campaign on the Omega facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. To minimize the implosion asymmetry due to laser drive, optimized laser cone powers, as well as improved beam pointings, were designed using 3D radiation-hydrodynamics code HYDRA [M. M. Marinak et al., Phys. Plasmas 3, 2070 (1996)]. Experimental back-lit radiographic and self-emission images revealed improved polar symmetry and increased neutron yield which were in good agreement with 2D HYDRA simulations. In particular, by reducing the energy in Omegas 21.4° polar rings by 16.75%, while increasing the energy in the 58.9° equatorial rings by 8.25% in such a way as to keep the overall energy to the target at 16 kJ, the second Legendre mode (P2) wa...

X-ray spectroscopic diagnostics and modeling of polar-drive implosion experiments on the National Ignition Facility

A series of experiments featuring laser-imploded plastic-shell targets filled with hydrogen or deuterium were performed on the National Ignition Facility. The shells (some deuterated) were doped in selected locations with Cu, Ga, and Ge, whose spectroscopic signals (indicative of local plasma conditions) were collected with a time-integrated, 1-D imaging, spectrally resolved, and absolute-intensity calibrated instrument. The experimental spectra compare well with radiation hydrodynamics simulations post-processed with a non-local thermal equilibrium atomic kinetics and spectroscopic-quality radiation-transport model. The obtained degree of agreement between the modeling and experimental data supports the application of spectroscopic techniques for the determination of plasma conditions, which can ultimately lead to the validation of theoretical models for thermonuclear burn in the presence of mix. Furthermore, the use of a lower-Z dopant element (e.g., Fe) is suggested for future experiments, since the ∼2...

Laser irradiance scaling in polar direct drive implosions on the National Ignition Facility

Polar-direct-drive experiments conducted at the National Ignition Facility [E. I. Moses, Fusion Sci. Technol. 54, 361 (2008)] performed at laser irradiance between 1 and 2×1015 W/cm2 exhibit increased hard x-ray emission, decreased neutron yield, and reduced areal density as the irradiance is increased. Experimental x-ray images at the higher irradiances show x-ray emission at the equator, as well as degraded symmetry, that is not predicted in hydrodynamic simulations using flux-limited energy transport, but that appear when non-local electron transport together with a model to account for cross beam energy transfer (CBET) is utilized. The reduction in laser power for equatorial beams required in the simulations to reproduce the effects of CBET on the observed symmetry also reproduces the yield degradation consistent with experimental data.

Using multiple secondary fusion products to evaluate fuel ρR, electron temperature, and mix in deuterium-filled implosions at the NIF

In deuterium-filled inertial confinement fusion implosions, the secondary fusion processes D(3He,p)4He and D(T,n)4He occur, as the primary fusion products 3He and T react in flight with thermal deuterons. In implosions with moderate fuel areal density (∼5–100 mg/cm2), the secondary D-3He reaction saturates, while the D-T reaction does not, and the combined information from these secondary products is used to constrain both the areal density and either the plasma electron temperature or changes in the composition due to mix of shell material into the fuel. The underlying theory of this technique is developed and applied to three classes of implosions on the National Ignition Facility: direct-drive exploding pushers, indirect-drive 1-shock and 2-shock implosions, and polar direct-drive implosions. In the 1- and 2-shock implosions, the electron temperature is inferred to be 0.65 times and 0.33 times the burn-averaged ion temperature, respectively. The inferred mixed mass in the polar direct-drive implosions ...

Effects of hot electrons on the stability of a closed field line plasma

Motivated by the electron cyclotron heating being employed on dipole experiments, the effects of a hot species on stability in closed magnetic field line geometry are investigated by considering a Z-pinch plasma. The interchange stability of a plasma of background electrons and ions with a small fraction of hot electrons is considered. The species diamagnetic drift and magnetic drift frequencies are assumed to be of the same order, and the wave frequency is assumed to be much larger than the background, but much less than the hot drift frequencies. An arbitrary total pressure dispersion relation is obtained, with the background plasma treated as a single fluid, while a fully kinetic description is employed for the hot species. The analysis of the dispersion relation shows that two different kinds of resonant hot electron effects modify the simple magnetohydrodynamic interchange stability condition. When the azimuthal magnetic field increases with radius, there is a critical pitch angle above which the mag...