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Burning plasma achieved in inertial fusion.
Zylstra, A B; Hurricane, O A; Callahan, D A; Kritcher, A L; Ralph, J E; Robey, H F; Ross, J S; Young, C V; Baker, K L; Casey, D T; Döppner, T; Divol, L; Hohenberger, M; Le Pape, S; Pak, A; Patel, P K; Tommasini, R; Ali, S J; Amendt, P A; Atherton, L J; Bachmann, B; Bailey, D; Benedetti, L R; Berzak Hopkins, L; Betti, R; Bhandarkar, S D; Biener, J; Bionta, R M; Birge, N W; Bond, E J; Bradley, D K; Braun, T; Briggs, T M; Bruhn, M W; Celliers, P M; Chang, B; Chapman, T; Chen, H; Choate, C; Christopherson, A R; Clark, D S; Crippen, J W; Dewald, E L; Dittrich, T R; Edwards, M J; Farmer, W A; Field, J E; Fittinghoff, D; Frenje, J; Gaffney, J.
Affiliation
  • Zylstra AB; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA. zylstra1@llnl.gov.
  • Hurricane OA; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA. hurricane1@llnl.gov.
  • Callahan DA; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Kritcher AL; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Ralph JE; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Robey HF; Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA.
  • Ross JS; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Young CV; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Baker KL; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Casey DT; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Döppner T; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Divol L; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Hohenberger M; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Le Pape S; Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des Lasers Intenses chez École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France.
  • Pak A; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Patel PK; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Tommasini R; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Ali SJ; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Amendt PA; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Atherton LJ; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Bachmann B; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Bailey D; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Benedetti LR; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Berzak Hopkins L; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Betti R; Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
  • Bhandarkar SD; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Biener J; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Bionta RM; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Birge NW; Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA.
  • Bond EJ; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Bradley DK; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Braun T; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Briggs TM; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Bruhn MW; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Celliers PM; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Chang B; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Chapman T; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Chen H; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Choate C; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Christopherson AR; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Clark DS; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Crippen JW; General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA.
  • Dewald EL; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Dittrich TR; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Edwards MJ; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Farmer WA; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Field JE; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Fittinghoff D; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
  • Frenje J; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
  • Gaffney J; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA.
Nature ; 601(7894): 542-548, 2022 01.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35082418
ABSTRACT
Obtaining a burning plasma is a critical step towards self-sustaining fusion energy1. A burning plasma is one in which the fusion reactions themselves are the primary source of heating in the plasma, which is necessary to sustain and propagate the burn, enabling high energy gain. After decades of fusion research, here we achieve a burning-plasma state in the laboratory. These experiments were conducted at the US National Ignition Facility, a laser facility delivering up to 1.9 megajoules of energy in pulses with peak powers up to 500 terawatts. We use the lasers to generate X-rays in a radiation cavity to indirectly drive a fuel-containing capsule via the X-ray ablation pressure, which results in the implosion process compressing and heating the fuel via mechanical work. The burning-plasma state was created using a strategy to increase the spatial scale of the capsule2,3 through two different implosion concepts4-7. These experiments show fusion self-heating in excess of the mechanical work injected into the implosions, satisfying several burning-plasma metrics3,8. Additionally, we describe a subset of experiments that appear to have crossed the static self-heating boundary, where fusion heating surpasses the energy losses from radiation and conduction. These results provide an opportunity to study α-particle-dominated plasmas and burning-plasma physics in the laboratory.
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Full text: 1 Database: MEDLINE Language: En Year: 2022 Type: Article
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Full text: 1 Database: MEDLINE Language: En Year: 2022 Type: Article