High-current stream of energetic α particles from laser-driven proton-boron fusion

Giuffrida, L.; Belloni, F.; Margarone, D.; Petringa, Giada; Milluzzo, G.; Scuderi, V.; Velyhan, A.; Rosiński, M.; Picciotto, A.; Kuchařík, Milan; Dostál, J.; Dudžák, R.; Krása, J.; Istokskaia, Valeriia; Catalano, Roberto; Tudisco, S.; Verona, C.; Jungwirth, K.; Bellutti, P.; Korn, G.; Cirrone, G.A.P.

doi:10.1103/physreve.101.013204

Cited by 80 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…In recent years, the interaction of high intensity laser beams with solid targets has paved the way to the generation of bright sources of protons (and different ion species) through the mechanisms of Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) [1], including recent achievements with the LFEX PW-laser [2,3]. Laser driven acceleration of energetic He ions (α-particles) has remained mostly unexplored, with exception of experimental results related to investigation of alternative neutron-less fusion schemes, also known as proton-boron fusion (p-B) reaction [4][5][6][7][8]:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generation of α-Particle Beams With a Multi-kJ, Peta-Watt Class Laser System

et al. 2020

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We present preliminary results on generation of energetic α-particles driven by lasers. The experiment was performed at the Institute of Laser Engineering in Osaka using the short-pulse, high-intensity, high-energy, PW-class laser. The laser pulse was focused onto a thin plastic foil (pitcher) to generate a proton beam by the well-known TNSA mechanism which, in turn, was impinging onto a boron-nitride (BN) target (catcher) to generated alpha-particles as a result of proton-boron nuclear fusion events. Our results demonstrate generation of α-particles with energies in the range 8-10 MeV and with a flux around 5 × 10 9 sr −1 .

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generation of α-Particle Beams With a Multi-kJ, Peta-Watt Class Laser System

et al. 2020

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“…In Equation 7n p is the proton density created after colliding with an alpha, and destroyed after a fusion event, as described by (i) and (ii) in Equation (5). σ el and σ fus are accordingly the elastic and the fusion cross sections in (5) and v α is the relative velocity of proton-alpha before the elastic collision, while v p is the relative velocity of proton-boron in the fusion reaction.…”

Section: The Pb 11 Chain Reactions and The Stopping Power Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2013 the lasers produced more than 10 7 pB 11 fusions [3] at LULI laboratory in France. At Prague in 2014 the PALS facility measured [4] 10 9 alpha particles and recently [5] in 2020 more than 10 11 alphas were published per laser shot.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigation of the Stopping Power Effect on Proton-Boron11 Nuclear Fusion Chain Reactions

Eliezer

Schweitzer²,

Nissim³

et al. 2020

Front. Phys.

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A proton beam with a velocity of the order of 10 9 cm/s is generated to interact with a charge neutral hydrogen-boron medium such as H 3 B. The created charged particles are confined by magnetic fields. This concept was the basis for a novel non-thermal fusion reactor, published recently in Laser and Particle Beams [1]. The fusion is initiated by protons followed by a process of chain reactions in a neutral medium density of the order of 10 19 cm −3 , heated by the pB 11 fusion created alphas up to a temperature of about one electron volt. In this system, the radiation losses by bremsstrahlung are negligible and the plasma thermal pressure is low. The ionization of the gaseous medium is caused by the alpha elastic nuclear collisions with the hydrogen atoms and their thermal heating and it is < 10 −4. An external electric field is applied to avoid the energy losses of the protons particles by friction, due to their interaction with the electrons of the medium, to keep the proton-boron fusion at the maximum cross section of about 600 keV at the center of mass frame of reference. The alphas created in the pB 11 fusion undergo nuclear elastic collisions with the hydrogen protons of the medium and causing a pB 11 chain reaction. In this paper the equation of motion of these proton and alphas are solved numerically for the one-dimensional (1D) case, and their possible solutions are analyzed and discussed. Specifically, it is shown how the electric field can mitigate the stopping power for the proton11-proton nuclear fusion. Our results show that starting from a bunch of 10 13 protons in our volume, an alpha number of particles of 6 × 10 16 was accepted after a 5 ms cycle of applying our specially designed electric field. Consequently, the medium temperature was raised to 1.3 eV. The aim of this paper is to present a new concept by addressing only the main physical processes and not to present a complete engineering design. The configuration for mitigating the stopping power and the numerical solution in this paper is novel and promises few applications with a viable proton-boron11 fusion reactions.

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“…The Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) in Prague was used not only for the DD fusion experiments [3,20] but also as a driver for the fusion reactions of hydrogen protons with the boron isotope 11 B releasing three alpha particles and energy of 8.7 MeV: p + 11 B = 3α + 8.7MeV [6,43,44]. First, A. Picciotto et al obtained a high number of α particles (10 9 α/sr/shot) released from the plasma which was produced on a silicone target, doped by boron and enriched with hydrogen by an annealing process.…”

Section: Dd and P 11 B Fusion Experiments At Palsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many efforts have been devoted to optimizing the heating of fusion targets by laser pulses to initiate different fusion reactions producing e.g., neutrons and alpha particles through fusion DD, DT and p 11 B reactions that carry released energy [4][5][6]. One of the important objectives for developing a usable fusion energy source is just to find an effective way to enhance the laser energy coupling to the target in the context of inertial confinement fusion research [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling of Laser Fusion Experiments for DD-Neutron Yield

Krása

Klír

2020

Front. Phys.

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Yields of neutrons produced in various laser fusion experiments conducted in recent decades are compared with each other. It has surprisingly been found that there is a possibility to make an overall elucidation of the variance in the number of neutrons produced in the various experiments. The common method is based on definition of the energy conversion efficiency as a ratio between the energy carried out by neutrons produced through the fusion reaction and the input energy given by laser energy, E, focused on a target. The neutron-yield-laser-energy (Y-E) diagram is the basic chart used to interpret the spread of experimental data in terms of the experimental efficiency of the laser-matter interaction. Experiments carried out using a single laser system show that laser energy dependence of the yield can be well-characterized by a power law, Y = QE α , where Q is the parameter reflecting possible dependence on the pulse duration, laser intensity, laser contrast ratio, focal geometry, target structure, etc. [1, 2]. Sorting the values of the neutron yields obtained in various experiments shows that the power law Y = Q E 1.65 is suitable to determine lines in the Y-E diagram each of them, where the value of Q is associated with quality of experimental conditions [3]. This sorting shows the order-of-magnitude differences in yields found in various experiments, which can be characterized by the value of the parameter Q. Due to the easy feasibility and the large number of DD fusion experiments performed, the overall Y-E diagram gives a chance to identify suitable laser systems for effective DD fusion experiments. It can, therefore, be assumed that some of the conclusions of these experiments could also be applied to the experimental arrangement suitable for optimizing p 11 B fusion.

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High-current stream of energetic α particles from laser-driven proton-boron fusion

Cited by 80 publications

References 47 publications

Generation of α-Particle Beams With a Multi-kJ, Peta-Watt Class Laser System

Generation of α-Particle Beams With a Multi-kJ, Peta-Watt Class Laser System

Mitigation of the Stopping Power Effect on Proton-Boron11 Nuclear Fusion Chain Reactions

Scaling of Laser Fusion Experiments for DD-Neutron Yield

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