High-yield and high-angular-fluence neutron generation from deuterons accelerated by laser-driven collisionless shock

Huang, Chengkun; Broughton, David; Palaniyappan, Sasikumar; Junghans, Ann; Iliev, Metodi; Batha, Steven; Reinovsky, R.E.; Favalli, Andrea

doi:10.1063/5.0075960

“…Moreover, our optimum proton-and deuteron-based setups #3 and #3b are predicted to produce neutron yields per unit laser pulse energy of � n /E L ≃ 3.4 − 7.0 × 10 8 n sr −1 J −1 , exceeding the record-high values ( � n /E L ≃ 0.95-2.5 ×10 8 n sr −1 J −1 ) achieved at the PHELIX facility 17,18 , and performing similarly to the scheme (based on radiation pressure acceleration in overcritical CD 2 foams by a circularly polarised laser pulse) recently proposed in Ref. 23 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

“…Both experiments were based on laser-acceleration of a deuteron beam from deuterated plastic targets via the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) 19,20 or breakout afterburner (BOA) 21,22 mechanisms, and on subsequent 9 Be(d, n) nuclear reactions in a beryllium converter located a few mm behind the primary target. A variant of this method, whereby deuterons are driven by the laser radiation pressure in a near-critical-density plasma, has been recently investigated numerically under conditions relevant to the TRIDENT laser 23 .The aim of this paper is, rather, to examine the neutron beams that could be produced using (p, n) or (d, n) reactions triggered by 1-PW-class, few-femtosecond laser systems, such as Apollon 24 or the upcoming ELI facilities in the Czech Republic 25 and Romania 26,27 , and which are as well commercially available. These systems usually…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both experiments were based on laser-acceleration of a deuteron beam from deuterated plastic targets via the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) 19,20 or breakout afterburner (BOA) 21,22 mechanisms, and on subsequent 9 Be(d, n) nuclear reactions in a beryllium converter located a few mm behind the primary target. A variant of this method, whereby deuterons are driven by the laser radiation pressure in a near-critical-density plasma, has been recently investigated numerically under conditions relevant to the TRIDENT laser 23 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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High-flux neutron generation by laser-accelerated ions from single- and double-layer targets

Horný

¹

,

Chen

²

,

Davoine

³

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Contemporary ultraintense, short-pulse laser systems provide extremely compact setups for the production of high-flux neutron beams, such as those required for nondestructive probing of dense matter, research on neutron-induced damage in fusion devices or laboratory astrophysics studies. Here, by coupling particle-in-cell and Monte Carlo numerical simulations, we examine possible strategies to optimise neutron sources from ion-induced nuclear reactions using 1-PW, 20-fs-class laser systems. To improve the ion acceleration, the laser-irradiated targets are chosen to be ultrathin solid foils, either standing alone or preceded by a plasma layer of near-critical density to enhance the laser focusing. We compare the performance of these single- and double-layer targets, and determine their optimum parameters in terms of energy and angular spectra of the accelerated ions. These are then sent into a converter to generate neutrons via nuclear reactions on beryllium and lead nuclei. Overall, we identify configurations that result in neutron yields as high as $$\sim 10^{10}\,{\mathrm{n}}\,{\mathrm{sr}}^{-1}$$ ∼ 10 10 n sr - 1 in $$\sim 1$$ ∼ 1 -cm-thick converters or instantaneous neutron fluxes above $$10^{23}\,{\mathrm{n}}\,{\mathrm{cm}}^{-2}\,{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$$ 10 23 n cm - 2 s - 1 at the backside of $$\lesssim 100$$ ≲ 100 -$$\upmu$$ μ m-thick converters. Considering a realistic repetition rate of one laser shot per minute, the corresponding time-averaged neutron yields are predicted to reach values ($$\gtrsim 10^7\,{\mathrm{n}} \,{\mathrm{sr}}^{-1}\,{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$$ ≳ 10 7 n sr - 1 s - 1 ) well above the current experimental record, and this even with a mere thin foil as a primary target. A further increase in the time-averaged yield up to above $$10^8\,{\mathrm{sr}}^{-1}\,{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$$ 10 8 sr - 1 s - 1 is foreseen using double-layer targets.

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“…The benefit of doing so is to provide an integrated system, hardware, and digital twin for real-time high-accuracy verification of irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies using PGET. Our proposed approach can be readily adapted and used for other applications in nuclear safeguards and beyond, such as the creation of a dataset for the Tomographic Gamma Scanner technique [24], which is a non-destructive assay technique, as well as in other radiography/tomography approaches for nuclear material and global security applications [12].…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vanquishing the computational cost of passive gamma emission tomography simulations: a physics-aware reduced order modeling approach

Cavallini¹,

Ferretti²,

Boström³

et al. 2023

Preprint

0

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Passive Gamma Emission Tomography (PGET) has been developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency as a way to directly image the spatial distribution of individual fuel pins in a spent nuclear fuel assembly and so determine potential diversion.Constructing the analysis and interpretation of PGET measurements rely on the availability of comprehensive datasets. Experimental data are expensive, limited, and so are augmented by Monte Carlo simulations. The main issue concerning Monte Carlo simulations is the high computational cost to simulate the 360 angular views of the tomography. Similar challenges pervade numerical science.To address this challenge, we have developed a physics-aware reduced order modeling approach. It provides a framework to combine a small subset of the 360 angular views with a computationally inexpensive proxy solution, that brings the essence of the physics, to obtain a real-time high-fidelity solution at all angular views, but at a fraction of the computational cost.

show abstract

“…The benefit of doing so is to provide an integrated system, hardware, and digital twin for real-time high-accuracy verification of irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies using PGET. Our proposed approach can be readily adapted and used for other applications in nuclear safeguards and beyond, such as the creation of a dataset for the Tomographic Gamma Scanner technique 27 , which is a non-destructive assay technique, as well as in other radiography/tomography approaches for nuclear material and global security applications 28 .…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vanquishing the computational cost of passive gamma emission tomography simulations leveraging physics-aware reduced order modeling

Cavallini,

Ferretti,

Bostrom

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

1

0

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Passive Gamma Emission Tomography (PGET) has been developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency to directly image the spatial distribution of individual fuel pins in a spent nuclear fuel assembly and determine potential diversion. The analysis and interpretation of PGET measurements rely on the availability of comprehensive datasets. Experimental data are expensive and limited, so Monte Carlo simulations are used to augment them. However, Monte Carlo simulations have a high computational cost to simulate the 360 angular views of the tomography. Similar challenges pervade numerical science. With the aim to create a large dataset of PGET simulated scenarios, we addressed the computational cost of Monte Carlo simulations by developing a physics-aware reduced order modeling approach. This approach combines a small subset of the 360 angular views (limited views approach) with a computationally inexpensive proxy solution (real-time forward model) that brings the essence of the physics to obtain a real-time high-fidelity solution at all angular views but at a fraction of the computational cost. The method’s ability to reconstruct 360 views with accuracy from a limited set of angular views is demonstrated by testing its performance for different types of reactor fuel assemblies.

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High-yield and high-angular-fluence neutron generation from deuterons accelerated by laser-driven collisionless shock

Cited by 10 publications

References 36 publications

High-flux neutron generation by laser-accelerated ions from single- and double-layer targets

High-flux neutron generation by laser-accelerated ions from single- and double-layer targets

Vanquishing the computational cost of passive gamma emission tomography simulations: a physics-aware reduced order modeling approach

Vanquishing the computational cost of passive gamma emission tomography simulations leveraging physics-aware reduced order modeling

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