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Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth is shown to be hydrodynamically scale invariant in convergent cylindrical implosions for targets that varied in radial dimension and implosion timescale by a factor of 3. The targets were driven directly by laser irradiation providing a short impulse, and instability growth at an embedded aluminum interface occurs as it converges radially inward by a factor of 2.25 and decelerates on a central foam core. Late-time growth factors of 14 are observed for a single-mode m=20 azimuthal perturbation at both scales, despite the differences in laser drive conditions between the experimental facilities, consistent with predictions from radiation-hydrodynamics simulations. This platform enables detailed investigations into the limits of hydrodynamic scaling in high-energy-density systems.
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The first cryogenic deuterium and deuterium-tritium liquid layer implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) demonstrate D_{2} and DT layer inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions that can access a low-to-moderate hot-spot convergence ratio (12
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The multi-decade neutron dosimeter and imaging diagnostic (MDND) is a passive diagnostic that utilizes the polyethylene (n, p) nuclear reaction to enhance the diagnostic's sensitivity for time and energy integrated neutron measurements in the range of 2.45-14.1 MeV. The MDND utilizes a combination of radiochromic film, phosphor image plates, and solid-state nuclear track detectors, with the goal of providing several orders of magnitude of dynamic range in terms of measured neutron fluence. The diagnostic design was guided by simulations in the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code to determine the optimum thickness of the polyethylene convertor for maximum proton fluence incident on the detection medium as a function of incident neutron energy. In addition, the simulation results of complete diagnostic assemblies, or "stacks," were used to determine the total dynamic range of an MDND in terms of measured neutron source yield, which was found to be between around 107 and 1015 emitted into 4π with the detector located 1 m away from the source. Complimentary to these simulations, individual detectors within a stack were simulated and analyzed to determine response as a function of neutron energy and yield. This work presents the diagnostic design, MCNP simulation results, and analysis of expected signals for varying neutron sources.
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We demonstrate the application of neural networks to perform x-ray spectra unfolding from data collected by filter stack spectrometers. A filter stack spectrometer consists of a series of filter-detector pairs, where the detectors behind each filter measure the energy deposition through each layer as photo-stimulated luminescence (PSL). The network is trained on synthetic data, assuming x-rays of energies <1 MeV and of two different distribution functions (Maxwellian and Gaussian) and the corresponding measured PSL values obtained from five different filter stack spectrometer designs. Predicted unfolds of single distributions are near identical reproductions of the ground truth spectra, with differences in the values lower than 20% at the higher energy end in some cases. The neural network has also demonstrated robustness to experimental measurement errors of <5% and some capability of performing unfolds for linear combinations of the two distributions without previous training. The network can perform unfolds at rates >1 Hz, ideal for application to some high-repetition-rate systems.
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We present a reduced-order model to calculate response matrices rapidly for filter stack spectrometers (FSSs). The reduced-order model allows response matrices to be built modularly from a set of pre-computed photon and electron transport and scattering calculations through various filter and detector materials. While these modular response matrices are not appropriate for high-fidelity analysis of experimental data, they encode sufficient physics to be used as a forward model in design optimization studies of FSSs, particularly for machine learning approaches that require sampling and testing a large number of FSS designs.
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We present an inversion method capable of robustly unfolding MeV x-ray spectra from filter stack spectrometer (FSS) data without requiring an a priori specification of a spectral shape or arbitrary termination of the algorithm. Our inversion method is based upon the perturbative minimization (PM) algorithm, which has previously been shown to be capable of unfolding x-ray transmission data, albeit for a limited regime in which the x-ray mass attenuation coefficient of the filter material increases monotonically with x-ray energy. Our inversion method improves upon the PM algorithm through regular smoothing of the candidate spectrum and by adding stochasticity to the search. With these additions, the inversion method does not require a physics model for an initial guess, fitting, or user-selected termination of the search. Instead, the only assumption made by the inversion method is that the x-ray spectrum should be near a smooth curve. Testing with synthetic data shows that the inversion method can successfully recover the primary large-scale features of MeV x-ray spectra, including the number of x-rays in energy bins of several-MeV widths to within 10%. Fine-scale features, however, are more difficult to recover accurately. Examples of unfolding experimental FSS data obtained at the Texas Petawatt Laser Facility and the OMEGA EP laser facility are also presented.
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The National Diagnostic Working Group (NDWG) has led the effort to fully exploit the major inertial confinement fusion/high-energy density facilities in the US with the best available diagnostics. These diagnostics provide key data used to falsify early theories for ignition and suggest new theories, recently leading to an experiment that exceeds the Lawson condition required for ignition. The factors contributing to the success of the NDWG, collaboration and scope evolution, and the methods of accomplishment of the NDWG are discussed in this Review. Examples of collaborations in neutron and gamma spectroscopy, x-ray and neutron imaging, x-ray spectroscopy, and deep-ultraviolet Thomson scattering are given. An abbreviated history of the multi-decade collaborations and the present semiformal management framework is given together with the latest National Diagnostic Plan.
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Inertial confinement fusion capsule implosions produce neutron, gamma-ray, and x-ray emission, which are recorded by a variety of detectors, both time integrated and time resolved, to determine the performance of the implosion. Two-dimensional emission images from multiple directions can now be combined to infer three-dimensional structures in the implosion, such as the distribution of thermonuclear fuel density, carbon ablator, and impurities. Because of the cost and complexity of the imaging systems, however, only a few measurements can be made, so reconstructions of the source must be made from a limited number of views. Here, a cylindrical-harmonics decomposition technique to reconstruct the three-dimensional object from two views in the same symmetry plane is presented. In the limit of zero order, this method recovers the Abel inversion method. The detailed algorithms used for this characterization and the resulting reconstructed neutron source from an experiment collected at the National Ignition Facility are presented.
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Neutron imaging provides a ready measurement of the shape of the "hot spot" core of an inertial confinement fusion implosion. The 14-MeV neutrons emitted by deuterium-tritium reactions are imaged at the National Ignition Facility using a pinhole array onto a scintillator, and the images are recorded on a camera. By changing the gate time of the camera, lower energy neutrons, downscattered by the cold fuel surrounding the hot spot, are recorded. The cold fuel density can be reconstructed using the two images. The kinematics of the scattering coupled with the scattering cross sections restrict the angular extent of the cold fuel sampled, with the backside of the implosion not being sampled at all. This work demonstrates the limited region of the cold fuel measured by the current line of sight (40%). At completion of the three planned lines of sight, 79% of the cold fuel will be sampled.
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Asymmetric implosion of inertial confinement fusion capsules is known, both experimentally and computationally, to reduce thermonuclear performance. This work shows that low-mode asymmetries degrade performance as a result of a decrease in the hydrodynamic disassembly time of the hot-spot core, which scales with the minimum dimension of the hot spot. The asymmetric shape of a hot spot results in decreased temperatures and areal densities and allows more alpha particles to escape, relative to an ideal spherical implosion, thus reducing alpha-energy deposition in the hot spot. Here, we extend previous ignition theory to include the hot-spot shape and quantify the effects of implosion asymmetry on both the ignition criterion and the capsule performance. The ignition criterion becomes more stringent with increasing deformation of the hot spot. The new theoretical results are validated by comparison with existing experimental data obtained at the National Ignition Facility. The shape effects on thermonuclear performance are relatively more noticeable for capsules having self-heating and high yields. The degradation of thermonuclear burn can be as high as 45% for shots with a yield lower than 2×10^{15} and less than 30% for shots with a higher yield.
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Fusion reaction history and ablator areal density measurements for Inertial Confinement Fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility are currently conducted using the Gamma Reaction History diagnostic (GRH_6m). Future Gas Cherenkov Detectors (GCDs) will ultimately provide â¼100x more sensitivity, reduce the effective temporal response from â¼100 to â¼10 ps, and lower the energy threshold from 2.9 to 1.8 MeV, relative to GRH_6m. The first phase toward next generation GCDs consisted of inserting the existing coaxial GCD-3 detector into a reentrant well which puts it within 4 m of the implosion. Reaction history and ablator gamma measurement results from this Phase I are discussed here. These results demonstrate viability for the follow-on Phases of (II) the use of a revolutionary new pulse-dilation photomultiplier tube to improve the effective measurement bandwidth by >10x relative to current PMT technology; and (III) the design of a NIF-specific "Super" GCD which will be informed by the assessment of the radiation background environment within the well described here.
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The newest generation of Gas Cherenkov Detector (GCD-3) employed in Inertial Confinement Fusion experiments at the Omega Laser Facility has provided improved performance over previous generations. Comparison of reaction histories measured using two different deuterium-tritium fusion products, namely gamma rays using GCD and neutrons using Neutron Temporal Diagnostic (NTD), have provided added credibility to both techniques. GCD-3 is now being brought to the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to supplement the existing Gamma Reaction History (GRH-6m) located 6 m from target chamber center (TCC). Initially it will be located in a reentrant well located 3.9 m from TCC. Data from GCD-3 will inform the design of a heavily-shielded "Super" GCD to be located as close as 20 cm from TCC. It will also provide a test-bed for faster optical detectors, potentially lowering the temporal resolution from the current â¼100 ps state-of-the-art photomultiplier tubes (PMT) to â¼10 ps Pulse Dilation PMT technology currently under development.
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The Gamma-to-Electron Magnetic Spectrometer (GEMS) diagnostic is designed to measure the prompt γ-ray energy spectrum during high yield deuterium-tritium (DT) implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The prompt γ-ray spectrum will provide "burn-averaged" observables, including total DT fusion yield, total areal density (ρR), ablator ρR, and fuel ρR. These burn-averaged observables are unique because they are essentially averaged over 4π, providing a global reference for the line-of-sight-specific measurements typical of x-ray and neutron diagnostics. The GEMS conceptual design meets the physics-based requirements: ΔE/E = 3%-5% can be achieved in the range of 2-25 MeV γ-ray energy. Minimum DT neutron yields required for 15% measurement uncertainty at low-resolution mode are: 5 × 10(14) DT-n for ablator ρR (at 0.2 g/cm(2)); 2 × 10(15) DT-n for total DT yield (at 4.2 × 10(-5) γ/n); and 1 × 10(16) DT-n for fuel ρR (at 1 g/cm(2)).
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A new Gas Cherenkov Detector (GCD) with low-energy threshold and high sensitivity, currently known as Super GCD (or GCD-3 at OMEGA), is being developed for use at the OMEGA Laser Facility and the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Super GCD is designed to be pressurized to ≤400 psi (absolute) and uses all metal seals to allow the use of fluorinated gases inside the target chamber. This will allow the gamma energy threshold to be run as low at 1.8 MeV with 400 psi (absolute) of C2F6, opening up a new portion of the gamma ray spectrum. Super GCD operating at 20 cm from TCC will be â¼400 × more efficient at detecting DT fusion gammas at 16.7 MeV than the Gamma Reaction History diagnostic at NIF (GRH-6m) when operated at their minimum thresholds.
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Numerical modeling of the neutron imaging system for the National Ignition Facility (NIF), forward from calculated target neutron emission to a camera image, will guide both the reduction of data and the future development of the system. Located 28 m from target chamber center, the system can produce two images at different neutron energies by gating on neutron arrival time. The brighter image, using neutrons near 14 MeV, reflects the size and symmetry of the implosion "hot spot." A second image in scattered neutrons, 10-12 MeV, reflects the size and symmetry of colder, denser fuel, but with only â¼1%-7% of the neutrons. A misalignment of the pinhole assembly up to ±175 µm is covered by a set of 37 subapertures with different pointings. The model includes the variability of the pinhole point spread function across the field of view. Omega experiments provided absolute calibration, scintillator spatial broadening, and the level of residual light in the down-scattered image from the primary neutrons. Application of the model to light decay measurements of EJ399, BC422, BCF99-55, Xylene, DPAC-30, and Liquid A suggests that DPAC-30 and Liquid A would be preferred over the BCF99-55 scintillator chosen for the first NIF system, if they could be fabricated into detectors with sufficient resolution.
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The newly upgraded TRIDENT high-energy-density (HED) facility provides high-energy short-pulse laser-matter interactions with powers in excess of 200 TW and energies greater than 120 J. In addition, TRIDENT retains two long-pulse (nanoseconds to microseconds) beams that are available for simultaneous use in either the same experiment or a separate one. The facility's flexibility is enhanced by the presence of two separate target chambers with a third undergoing commissioning. This capability allows the experimental configuration to be optimized by choosing the chamber with the most advantageous geometry and features. The TRIDENT facility also provides a wide range of standard instruments including optical, x-ray, and particle diagnostics. In addition, one chamber has a 10 in. manipulator allowing OMEGA and National Ignition Facility (NIF) diagnostics to be prototyped and calibrated.
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Strongly shocked cylindrically convergent implosions were conducted on the OMEGA laser. The directly driven targets consist of a low-density foam core and an embedded aluminum shell covered by an epoxy ablator. The outer surface of the aluminum shell has imposed single-mode perturbations with wave numbers k=0.08, 0.25, and 0.7 (rad/microm) and initial amplitudes eta(0)/lambda=0.013, 0.04 and 0.11. The perturbation growth rate is found to scale with k and, in our convergent geometry, no evidence of saturation for eta/lambda as large as 5 is observed.