Ab initio molecular dynamics is used to compute the thermal conductivity of hydrogen at 80 g cm(-3) and temperature up to 800 eV. Pressures and ionic structure are compared with orbital-free calculations. Thermal conductivity is evaluated using the Kubo-Greenwood formula and is compared with models currently used in hydrodynamical simulations of inertial confinement fusion.
Shock ignition is an approach to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) in which the stages of compression and hot spot formation are partly separated. The fuel is first imploded at a lower velocity than in conventional ICF. Close to stagnation, an intense laser spike drives a strong converging shock, which contributes to hot spot formation. Shock ignition shows potentials for high gain at laser energies below 1 MJ, and could be tested on the National Ignition Facility or Laser MegaJoule. Shock ignition principles and modelling are reviewed in this paper. Target designs and computer-generated gain curves are presented and discussed. Limitations of present studies and research needs are outlined.
The different behaviours of deuterium (D) and tritium (T) in the hot spot of marginally igniting cryogenic DT inertial-confinement fusion (ICF) targets are investigated with an ion Fokker-Planck model. With respect to an equivalent single-species model, a higher density and a higher temperature are found for T in the stagnation phase of the target implosion. In addition, the stagnating hot spot is found to be less dense but hotter than in the single-species case. As a result, the fusion reaction yield in the hot spot is significantly increased. Fusion neutron diagnostics of the implosion find a larger ion temperature as deduced from DT reactions than from DD reactions, in good agreement with NIF experimental results. ICF target designs should thus definitely take ion-kinetic effects into account.
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