Performance Scaling in Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion Experiments.

We present experimental results from the first systematic study of performance scaling with drive parameters for a magnetoinertial fusion concept. In magnetized liner inertial fusion experiments, the burn-averaged ion temperature doubles to 3.1 keV and the primary deuterium-deuterium neutron yield increases by more than an order of magnitude to 1.1×10^{13} (2 kJ deuterium-tritium equivalent) through a simultaneous increase in the applied magnetic field (from 10.4 to 15.9 T), laser preheat energy (from 0.46 to 1.2 kJ), and current coupling (from 16 to 20 MA). Individual parametric scans of the initial magnetic field and laser preheat energy show the expected trends, demonstrating the importance of magnetic insulation and the impact of the Nernst effect for this concept. A drive-current scan shows that present experiments operate close to the point where implosion stability is a limiting factor in performance, demonstrating the need to raise fuel pressure as drive current is increased. Simulations that capture these experimental trends indicate that another order of magnitude increase in yield on the Z facility is possible with additional increases of input parameters.

Stabilization of Liner Implosions via a Dynamic Screw Pinch.

Magnetically driven implosions are susceptible to magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, including the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability (MRTI). To reduce MRTI growth in solid-metal liner implosions, the use of a dynamic screw pinch (DSP) has been proposed [P. F. Schmit et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 205001 (2016)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.117.205001]. In a DSP configuration, a helical return-current structure surrounds the liner, resulting in a helical magnetic field that drives the implosion. Here, we present the first experimental tests of a solid-metal liner implosion driven by a DSP. Using the 1-MA, 100-200-ns COBRA pulsed-power driver, we tested three DSP cases (with peak axial magnetic fields of 2 T, 14 T, and 20 T) and a standard z-pinch (SZP) case (with a straight return-current structure and thus zero axial field). The liners had an initial radius of 3.2 mm and were made from 650-nm-thick aluminum foil. Images collected during the experiments reveal that helical MRTI modes developed in the DSP cases, while nonhelical (azimuthally symmetric) MRTI modes developed in the SZP case. Additionally, the MRTI amplitudes for the 14-T and 20-T DSP cases were smaller than in the SZP case. Specifically, when the liner had imploded to half of its initial radius, the MRTI amplitudes for the SZP case and for the 14-T and 20-T DSP cases were, respectively, 1.1±0.3 mm, 0.7±0.2 mm, and 0.3±0.1 mm. Relative to the SZP, the stabilization obtained using the DSP agrees reasonably well with theoretical estimates.

Controlling Rayleigh-Taylor Instabilities in Magnetically Driven Solid Metal Shells by Means of a Dynamic Screw Pinch.

Magnetically driven implosions of solid metal shells are an effective vehicle to compress materials to extreme pressures and densities. Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities (RTI) are ubiquitous, yet typically undesired features in all such experiments where solid materials are rapidly accelerated to high velocities. In cylindrical shells ("liners"), the magnetic field driving the implosion can exacerbate the RTI. We suggest an approach to implode solid metal liners enabling a remarkable reduction in the growth of magnetized RTI (MRTI) by employing a magnetic drive with a tilted, dynamic polarization, forming a dynamic screw pinch. Our calculations, based on a self-consistent analytic framework, demonstrate that the cumulative growth of the most deleterious MRTI modes may be reduced by as much as 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. One key application of this technique is to generate increasingly stable, higher-performance implosions of solid metal liners to achieve fusion [M. R. Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)]. We weigh the potentially dramatic benefits of the solid liner dynamic screw pinch against the experimental tradeoffs required to achieve the desired drive field history and identify promising designs for future experimental and computational studies.

Experimental demonstration of fusion-relevant conditions in magnetized liner inertial fusion.

This Letter presents results from the first fully integrated experiments testing the magnetized liner inertial fusion concept [S. A. Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)], in which a cylinder of deuterium gas with a preimposed 10 Taxial magnetic field is heated by Z beamlet, a 2.5 kJ, 1 TW laser, and magnetically imploded by a 19 MA, 100 ns rise time current on the Z facility. Despite a predicted peak implosion velocity of only 70 km = s, the fuel reaches a stagnation temperature of approximately 3 keV, with T(e) ≈ T(i), and produces up to 2 x 10(12) thermonuclear deuterium-deuterium neutrons. X-ray emission indicates a hot fuel region with full width at half maximum ranging from 60 to 120 µm over a 6 mm height and lasting approximately 2 ns. Greater than 10(10) secondary deuterium-tritium neutrons were observed, indicating significant fuel magnetization given that the estimated radial areal density of the plasma is only 2 mg = cm(2).

Understanding fuel magnetization and mix using secondary nuclear reactions in magneto-inertial fusion.

Magnetizing the fuel in inertial confinement fusion relaxes ignition requirements by reducing thermal conductivity and changing the physics of burn product confinement. Diagnosing the level of fuel magnetization during burn is critical to understanding target performance in magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) implosions. In pure deuterium fusion plasma, 1.01 MeV tritons are emitted during deuterium-deuterium fusion and can undergo secondary deuterium-tritium reactions before exiting the fuel. Increasing the fuel magnetization elongates the path lengths through the fuel of some of the tritons, enhancing their probability of reaction. Based on this feature, a method to diagnose fuel magnetization using the ratio of overall deuterium-tritium to deuterium-deuterium neutron yields is developed. Analysis of anisotropies in the secondary neutron energy spectra further constrain the measurement. Secondary reactions also are shown to provide an upper bound for the volumetric fuel-pusher mix in MIF. The analysis is applied to recent MIF experiments [M. R. Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)] on the Z Pulsed Power Facility, indicating that significant magnetic confinement of charged burn products was achieved and suggesting a relatively low-mix environment. Both of these are essential features of future ignition-scale MIF designs.

Negative-mass instability in nonlinear plasma waves.

The negative-mass instability, previously found in ion traps, appears as a distinct regime of the sideband instability in nonlinear plasma waves with trapped particles. As the bounce frequency of these particles decreases with the bounce action, bunching can occur if the action distribution is inverted in trapping islands. In contrast to existing theories that also infer instabilities from the anharmonicity of bounce oscillations, spatial periodicity of the islands turns out to be unimportant, and the particle distribution can be unstable even if it is flat at the resonance. An analytical model is proposed that describes both single traps and periodic nonlinear waves and concisely generalizes the conventional description of the sideband instability in plasma waves. The theoretical results are supported by particle-in-cell simulations carried out for a regime accentuating the negative-mass instability.

Nonlinear amplification and decay of phase-mixed waves in compressing plasma.

Through particle-in-cell simulations, we show that plasma waves carrying trapped electrons can be amplified manyfold via compressing plasma perpendicularly to the wave vector. These simulations are the first ab initio demonstration of the conservation of nonlinear action for such waves, which contains a term independent of the field amplitude. In agreement with the theory, the maximum of amplification gain is determined by the total initial energy of the trapped-particle average motion but otherwise is insensitive to the particle distribution. Further compression destroys the wave; electrons are then untrapped at suprathermal energies and form a residual beam. As compression continues, the bump-on-tail instability is triggered each time one of the discrete modes comes in resonance with this beam. Hence, periodic bursts of the electrostatic energy are produced until a wide quasilinear plateau is formed.

Driving sudden current and voltage in expanding and compressing plasma.

A magnetized plasma preseeded with an initially undamped Langmuir wave is shown to transition suddenly to a collisionless damping regime upon expansion of the plasma perpendicular to the background magnetic field. The resulting anisotropic fast-particle distribution then leads to an electrical current and dc voltage induction. The current drive efficiency of this effect in nonstationary plasmas is shown to depend on the rate of expansion of the plasma, the time-varying collisionality, and the plasma L/R time. Subsequent recompression of the plasma enhances this current drive effect by reducing further the collision rate of the current-carrying electrons.

Plasma-based accelerator with magnetic compression.

Electron dephasing is a major gain-inhibiting effect in plasma-based accelerators. A novel method is proposed to overcome dephasing, in which the modulation of a modest [~O(10 kG)], axial, uniform magnetic field in the acceleration channel leads to densification of the plasma through magnetic compression, enabling direct, time-resolved control of the plasma wave properties. The methodology is broadly applicable and can be optimized to improve the leading acceleration approaches, including plasma beat wave, plasma wakefield, and laser wakefield acceleration. The advantages of magnetic compression are compared to other proposed techniques to overcome dephasing.

Controlling hot electrons by wave amplification and decay in compressing plasma.

Through particle-in-cell simulations, it is demonstrated that a part of the mechanical energy of compressing plasma can be controllably transferred to hot electrons by preseeding the plasma with a Langmuir wave that is compressed together with the medium. Initially, a wave is undamped, so it is amplified under compression due to plasmon conservation. Later, as the phase velocity also changes under compression, Landau damping can be induced at a predetermined instant of time. Then the wave energy is transferred to hot electrons, shaping the particle distribution over a controllable velocity interval, which is wider than that in stationary plasma. For multiple excited modes, the transition between the adiabatic amplification and the damping occurs at different moments; thus, individual modes can deposit their energy independently, each at its own prescribed time.