50th Annual Meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics
Volume 53, Number 14
Monday–Friday, November 17–21, 2008;
Dallas, Texas
Session YI1: Fast Ignition II
9:45 AM–12:45 PM,
Friday, November 21, 2008
Room: Landmark A
Chair: Richard Town
Abstract ID: BAPS.2008.DPP.YI1.2
Abstract: YI1.00002 : Integrated Simulations of Hot-Electron Transport and Ignition for Direct-Drive, Fast-Ignition Targets
10:15 AM–10:45 AM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
A. Solodov
(Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester)
A thorough understanding of future integrated fast-ignition
experiments
combining compression and heating for high-density thermonuclear
fuel
require hybrid (fluid+particle) simulations of the implosion and
ignition
process. Very different spatial and temporal scales need to be
resolved to
model the entire fast-ignition experiment. The 2-D axisymmetric
hydrocode
\textit{DRACO}\footnote{P. B. Radha\textit{ et al}., Phys.
Plasmas \textbf{12}, 056307 (2005).} and the
2-D/3-D hybrid-PIC code \textit{LSP}\footnote{D. R. Welch
\textit{et al}., Phys. Plasmas \textbf{13},
063105 (2006).} have been integrated to simulate the implosion
and heating
of direct-drive fast-ignition fusion targets. \textit{DRACO}
includes the physics required
to simulate compression, ignition, and burn of fast-ignition
targets. \textit{LSP}
simulates the transport of hot electrons from the place where
they are
generated by a petawatt laser pulse to the dense fuel core where
their
energy is absorbed. The results of integrated simulations of
optimized
spherically symmetric and cone-in-shell DT, high-gain, fast-ignition
targets\footnote{R. Betti and C. Zhou, Phys. Plasmas \textbf{12},
110702
(2005).} will be presented. The minimum energy required for
ignition is
found for hot electrons with a realistic angular spread and
Maxwellian
energy-distribution function.\footnote{B. Chrisman, Y. Sentoku,
and A. J.
Kemp, Phys. Plasmas \textbf{15}, 056309 (2008).} The results from
simulations of cone-in-shell plastic targets designed for
fast-ignition
experiments on OMEGA EP will be presented. Target heating and
neutron yield
are computed. Resistive Weibel instability is found to break the
hot-electron beam into filaments. The global self-generated
resistive
magnetic field of the beam is found to collimate the hot
electrons. The
self-generated field increases the coupling efficiency of hot
electrons with
the target core and reduces the minimum energy required for
ignition. This
work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under
Cooperative
Agreement Nos. DE-FC02-04ER54789 and DE-FC52-08NA28302.
Contributors: K.S.
Anderson, R. Betti, V. Gotcheva, J.F. Myatt, J.A. Delettrez, S.
Skupsky.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2008.DPP.YI1.2