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A distinctive way of quantitatively imaging inertial fusion implosions has resulted in the characterization of two different types of electromagnetic configurations and in the measurement of the temporal evolution of capsule size and areal density. Radiography with a pulsed, monoenergetic, isotropic proton source reveals field structures through deflection of proton trajectories, and areal densities are quantified through the energy lost by protons while traversing the plasma. The two field structures consist of (i) many radial filaments with complex striations and bifurcations, permeating the entire field of view, of magnetic field magnitude 60 tesla and (ii) a coherent, centrally directed electric field of order 10 9 volts per meter, seen in proximity to the capsule surface. Although the mechanism for generating these fields is unclear, their effect on implosion dynamics is potentially consequential.

Dense fluid metallic hydrogen occupies the interiors of Jupiter, Saturn, and many extrasolar planets, where pressures reach millions of atmospheres. Planetary structure models must describe accurately the transition from the outer molecular envelopes to the interior metallic regions. We report optical measurements of dynamically compressed fluid deuterium to 600 gigapascals (GPa) that reveal an increasing refractive index, the onset of absorption of visible light near 150 GPa, and a transition to metal-like reflectivity (exceeding 30%) near 200 GPa, all at temperatures below 2000 kelvin. Our measurements and analysis address existing discrepancies between static and dynamic experiments for the insulator-metal transition in dense fluid hydrogen isotopes. They also provide new benchmarks for the theoretical calculations used to construct planetary models.

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High-resolution spectrometry of charged particles from inertial-confinement-fusion ͑ICF͒ experiments has become an important method of studying plasma conditions in laser-compressed capsules. In experiments at the 60-beam OMEGA laser facility ͓T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 ͑1997͔͒, utilizing capsules with D 2 , D 3 He, DT, or DTH fuel in a shell of plastic, glass, or D 2 ice, we now routinely make spectral measurements of primary fusion products ͑p, D, T, 3 He, ␣͒, secondary fusion products ͑p͒, ''knock-on'' particles ͑p, D, T͒ elastically scattered by primary neutrons, and ions from the shell. Use is made of several types of spectrometers that rely on detection and identification of particles with CR-39 nuclear track detectors in conjunction with magnets and/or special ranging filters. CR-39 is especially useful because of its insensitivity to electromagnetic noise and its ability to distinguish the types and energies of individual particles, as illustrated here by detailed calibrations of its response to 0.1-13.8 MeV protons from a Van de Graaff accelerator and to p, D, T, and ␣ from ICF experiments at OMEGA. A description of the spectrometers is accompanied by illustrations of their operating principles using data from OMEGA. Sample results and discussions illustrate the relationship of secondary-proton and knock-on spectra to capsule fuel and shell areal densities and radial compression ratios; the relationship of different primary fusion products to each other and to ion temperatures; the relationship of deviations from spherical symmetry in particle yields and energies to capsule structure; the acceleration of fusion products and the spectra of ions from the shell due to external fields; and other important physical characteristics of the laser-compressed capsules.

The demonstration of magnetic field compression to many tens of megagauss in cylindrical implosions of inertial confinement fusion targets is reported for the first time. The OMEGA laser [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] was used to implode cylindrical CH targets filled with deuterium gas and seeded with a strong external field (>50 kG) from a specially developed magnetic pulse generator. This seed field was trapped (frozen) in the shock-heated gas fill and compressed by the imploding shell at a high implosion velocity, minimizing the effect of resistive flux diffusion. The magnetic fields in the compressed core were probed via proton deflectrometry using the fusion products from an imploding D 3 He target. Line-averaged magnetic fields between 30 and 40 MG were observed. In the magnetic fusion energy (MFE) concept, a strong magnetic field confines the plasma and reduces the electron thermal conduction to the vessel wall [1]. The magnetic pressure of typical $0:1-MG fields is higher than the total energy density of the plasma (with ¼ 2 0 p=B 2 < 1). MFE plasmas are fully magnetized and characterized by a Hall parameter ! ce > 1 since the modest gyrofrequency ! ce is matched by long collision times . In contrast, typical inertial confinement fusion (ICF) plasmas have collision frequencies higher by 10 to 12 orders of magnitude because of their extreme density. In such systems, thermal conduction losses are a major factor in the energy balance of an implosion. While it can be more difficult, magnetizing the hot spot in ICF implosions can lead to improved gains and to a reduction of the energy required for ignition. A similar approach is used in the magnetized target fusion concept [2], where the fusion burn requires relatively low-implosion velocities, provided there is an adequate magnetic thermal insulation. In ICF implosions, lower implosion velocities lead to higher gains [3]. However, tens of MG are needed to achieve ! ce $ 1 in the hot spot of a typical, direct drive DT ignition target [4] with hot-spot density of $30 g=cc and a temperature of $7 keV. Such a field is higher than both the self-generated magnetic fields (see Ref. [5]) and the external fields that can be generated by coils. Magnetic-flux compression [6] is a viable path to generating tens of MG magnetic fields with adequate size compression of a metal liner driven by high explosives [7,8] or by pulsed power. The latter approach has been pursued by the Z-pinch [9] communities. The results from the first experiments on a new approach that provides very effective flux compression are reported here. The field is compressed by the ablative pressure exerted on an imploding ICF capsule by the driving laser [10]. This approach was proposed in the 1980s [11] as a way to achieve record compressed fields with possible applications for fusion [12] but no laser experiments were performed. There are numerous advantages to this approach as the implosion velocity is high (a few 10 7 cm=s) and the hot plasma is an effective conductor that tra...