Polar-Drive Cryogenic Implosions on the OMEGA Laser*

The first set of cryogenic PDD implosions on the OMEGA laser are described. The goal of these implosions is to identify and validate techniques to achieve comparable performance to the long-standing spherical direct-drive cryogenic campaign on OMEGA. Trends in the shape of the imploding shell were studied in the first set of PDD implosions by varying beam energies for specific OMEGA beams. Hot-spot images measured using x rays indicate the expected change in shape from prolate to oblate as the energy of the beams closer to the equator is decreased relative to that of the beams near the poles. The reduction in yield in these implosions is comparable to those in previous room-temperature implosions. Experimental observations will be compared with simulations. The path forward is described.