Validation of implosion modeling through direct-drive shock timing experiments at the National Ignition Facility.

Precise modeling of shocks in inertial confinement fusion implosions is critical for obtaining the desired compression in experiments. Shock velocities and postshock conditions are determined by laser-energy deposition, heat conduction, and equations of state. This paper describes experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [E. M. Campbell and W. J. Hogan, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 41, B39 (1999)10.1088/0741-3335/41/12B/303] where multiple shocks are launched into a cone-in-shell target made of polystyrene, using laser-pulse shapes with two or three pickets and varying on-target intensities. Shocks are diagnosed using the velocity interferometric system for any reflector (VISAR) diagnostic [P. M. Celliers et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 75, 4916 (2004)0034-674810.1063/1.1807008]. Simulated and inferred shock velocities agree well for the range of intensities studied in this work. These directly-driven shock-timing experiments on the NIF provide a good measure of early-time laser-energy coupling. The validated models add to the credibility of direct-drive-ignition designs at the megajoule scale.

Time-resolved X-ray diffraction diagnostic development for the National Ignition Facility.

We present the development of an experimental platform that can collect four frames of x-ray diffraction data along a single line of sight during laser-driven, dynamic-compression experiments at the National Ignition Facility. The platform is comprised of a diagnostic imager built around ultrafast sensors with a 2-ns integration time, a custom target assembly that serves also to shield the imager, and a 10-ns duration, quasi-monochromatic x-ray source produced by laser-generated plasma. We demonstrate the performance with diffraction data for Pb ramp compressed to 150 GPa and illuminated by a Ge x-ray source that produces ∼7 × 1011, 10.25-keV photons/ns at the 400 µm diameter sample.

X-Ray Diffraction of Ramp-Compressed Silicon to 390 GPa.

Silicon (Si) exhibits a rich collection of phase transitions under ambient-temperature isothermal and shock compression. This report describes in situ diffraction measurements of ramp-compressed Si between 40 and 389 GPa. Angle-dispersive x-ray scattering reveals that Si assumes an hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure between 40 and 93 GPa and, at higher pressure, a face-centered cubic structure that persists to at least 389 GPa, the highest pressure for which the crystal structure of Si has been investigated. The range of hcp stability extends to higher pressures and temperatures than predicted by theory.

Equation of State of CO_{2} Shock Compressed to 1 TPa.

Equation-of-state (pressure, density, temperature, internal energy) and reflectivity measurements on shock-compressed CO_{2} at and above the insulating-to-conducting transition reveal new insight into the chemistry of simple molecular systems in the warm-dense-matter regime. CO_{2} samples were precompressed in diamond-anvil cells to tune the initial densities from 1.35 g/cm^{3} (liquid) to 1.74 g/cm^{3} (solid) at room temperature and were then shock compressed up to 1 TPa and 93 000 K. Variation in initial density was leveraged to infer thermodynamic derivatives including specific heat and Gruneisen coefficient, exposing a complex bonded and moderately ionized state at the most extreme conditions studied.

X-ray diffraction at the National Ignition Facility.

We report details of an experimental platform implemented at the National Ignition Facility to obtain in situ powder diffraction data from solids dynamically compressed to extreme pressures. Thin samples are sandwiched between tamper layers and ramp compressed using a gradual increase in the drive-laser irradiance. Pressure history in the sample is determined using high-precision velocimetry measurements. Up to two independently timed pulses of x rays are produced at or near the time of peak pressure by laser illumination of thin metal foils. The quasi-monochromatic x-ray pulses have a mean wavelength selectable between 0.6 Å and 1.9 Å depending on the foil material. The diffracted signal is recorded on image plates with a typical 2θ x-ray scattering angle uncertainty of about 0.2° and resolution of about 1°. Analytic expressions are reported for systematic corrections to 2θ due to finite pinhole size and sample offset. A new variant of a nonlinear background subtraction algorithm is described, which has been used to observe diffraction lines at signal-to-background ratios as low as a few percent. Variations in system response over the detector area are compensated in order to obtain accurate line intensities; this system response calculation includes a new analytic approximation for image-plate sensitivity as a function of photon energy and incident angle. This experimental platform has been used up to 2 TPa (20 Mbar) to determine the crystal structure, measure the density, and evaluate the strain-induced texturing of a variety of compressed samples spanning periods 2-7 on the periodic table.

The 12C(n, 2n)11C cross section from threshold to 26.5 MeV.

The 12C(n, 2n)11C cross section was measured from just below threshold to 26.5 MeV using the Pelletron accelerator at Ohio University. Monoenergetic neutrons, produced via the 3H(d,n)4He reaction, were allowed to strike targets of polyethylene and graphite. Activation of both targets was measured by counting positron annihilations resulting from the ß+ decay of 11C. Annihilation gamma rays were detected, both in coincidence and singly, using back-to-back NaI detectors. The incident neutron flux was determined indirectly via 1H(n,p) protons elastically scattered from the polyethylene target. Previous measurements fall into upper and lower bands; the results of the present measurement are consistent with the upper band.

Erratum: Measurement of Body-Centered-Cubic Aluminum at 475 GPa [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 175702 (2017)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.175702.

Measurement of Body-Centered-Cubic Aluminum at 475 GPa.

Nanosecond in situ x-ray diffraction and simultaneous velocimetry measurements were used to determine the crystal structure and pressure, respectively, of ramp-compressed aluminum at stress states between 111 and 475 GPa. The solid-solid Al phase transformations, fcc-hcp and hcp-bcc, are observed at 216±9 and 321±12 GPa, respectively, with the bcc phase persisting to 475 GPa. The high-pressure crystallographic texture of the hcp and bcc phases suggests close-packed or nearly close-packed lattice planes remain parallel through both transformations.

Absolute calibration of the OMEGA streaked optical pyrometer for temperature measurements of compressed materials.

Experiments in high-energy-density physics often use optical pyrometry to determine temperatures of dynamically compressed materials. In combination with simultaneous shock-velocity and optical-reflectivity measurements using velocity interferometry, these experiments provide accurate equation-of-state data at extreme pressures (P > 1 Mbar) and temperatures (T > 0.5 eV). This paper reports on the absolute calibration of the streaked optical pyrometer (SOP) at the Omega Laser Facility. The wavelength-dependent system response was determined by measuring the optical emission from a National Institute of Standards and Technology-traceable tungsten-filament lamp through various narrowband (40-nm-wide) filters. The integrated signal over the SOP's ∼250-nm operating range is then related to that of a blackbody radiator using the calibrated response. We present a simple closed-form equation for the brightness temperature as a function of streak-camera signal derived from this calibration. Error estimates indicate that brightness temperature can be inferred to a precision of <5%.