Physics of Ignition: Collaboration with the National Ignition Facility: Diagnosing Hot-Spot Mix via X-Ray Spectroscopy
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
The fusion of light nuclei is the energy source that powers the sun. If harnessed on earth, it could provide limitless low-carbon energy. The basic fuel - the Deuterium and Tritium (D&T) forms of heavy hydrogen, are either readily available in sea-water, or can be 'bred' from the abundant element Lithium (the element in a mobile phone battery). The primary nuclear waste products are harmless - the main being helium (an alpha particle), an inert gas found in party balloons. This all sounds too good to be true - and in a sense it is - because getting the reaction to occur is incredibly difficult - because pushing the D and T close together such that the strong force causes them to bind takes a lot of energy (they repel as they are positively charged nuclei). Getting them to move fast enough so that when by chance they have a head-on collision and get close enough to fuse corresponds to heating them to 100 million K. Confining such a hot plasma for long enough for the collisions to occur is no mean feat. There are two approaches: the first uses a magnetic bottle to keep a low density gas away from the walls of a container. As the density is low, collisions take several seconds - this is the magnetic fusion approach. The second idea uses lasers irradiating a small spherical balloon containing the heavy hydrogen. The laser heats the outside of the balloon from different directions, creating a hot plasma that expands into the vacuum, and then, like a spherical rocket, the shell moves towards the centre, compressing the heavy hydrogen to high temperatures and densities 100s of times denser than ordinary liquid. No magnetic fields are needed, because owing to the high density, the collisions are very rapid, and although the compressed miniature sun will expand again (and blow up more quickly if fusion takes place), the reaction occurs faster than the explosion itself - the material is confined by its own inertia. This is called inertial confinement fusion. In current studies at the National Ignition Facility in California, this goal is close to being realised. However, at present there are still problems to be overcome. One of the major ones is that the shell does not compress uniformly, and it is known that if the implosion is not close to being perfectly spherical, then any ripples will grow, breaking up the wall of the shell before the peak of the implosion. The shell of the balloon then mixes into the fuel, and starts to 'glow' due to the high temperatures, and cools the system, preventing fusion. Therefore, two interlinked problems need to be tackled - firstly, we need to find out how much of the shell is mixing into the heavy hydrogen core - and secondly we need to work out how to prevent this happening (either by making better targets, or illuminating the sphere more uniformly). This research grant addresses the first measurement problem. For various physics reasons the shell of the balloon contains some heavy elements (particularly Germanium) which, if they mix into the hot core, 'light-up' and emit characteristic X-ray lines. From a study of the absolute and relative brightness of these lines, it is possible to gain information on the temperature of the material, and of the density, and also, of the amount of the shell that has mixed into the core. Some of this work has already been performed by our US colleagues. However, at present the technique is not quite accurate enough to say if the amount that has mixed in is really enough to extinguish the reaction. The Oxford and York groups in the UK here put forward several new ideas to improve the theory and experimental technique to a point where we believe we will be able to say if the mix level is acceptable. These ideas are based on a new high resolution x-ray instrument, novel spectroscopic theory looking at the brightness of X-rays from different elements, and by performing sophisticated full 3 dimensional simulations of the emission process.
People |
ORCID iD |
Nigel Woolsey (Principal Investigator) |
Publications

Antonelli L
(2019)
X-ray phase-contrast imaging for laser-induced shock waves
in EPL (Europhysics Letters)

Armstrong C
(2019)
Bremsstrahlung emission profile from intense laser-solid interactions as a function of laser focal spot size
in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion

Barbato F
(2020)
Author Correction: Quantitative phase contrast imaging of a shock-wave with a laser-plasma based X-ray source.
in Scientific reports

Barbato F
(2019)
Quantitative phase contrast imaging of a shock-wave with a laser-plasma based X-ray source.
in Scientific reports

Barbato F
(2019)
Propagation-based imaging phase-contrast enhanced imaging setup for single shot acquisition using laser-generated X-ray sources
in Journal of Instrumentation

Bradford P
(2018)
EMP control and characterization on high-power laser systems
in High Power Laser Science and Engineering

Bradford P
(2020)
Proton deflectometry of a capacitor coil target along two axes
in High Power Laser Science and Engineering

Ciricosta O
(2017)
Simultaneous diagnosis of radial profiles and mix in NIF ignition-scale implosions via X-ray spectroscopy
in Physics of Plasmas

Colgan J
(2016)
Evidence of high-n hollow-ion emission from Si ions pumped by ultraintense x-rays from relativistic laser plasma
in EPL (Europhysics Letters)

Consoli F
(2020)
Laser produced electromagnetic pulses: generation, detection and mitigation
in High Power Laser Science and Engineering
Description | The key findings are embedded in our publications. There will be more to come. |
Exploitation Route | Continued work with Livermore team and future grant applications. |
Sectors | Energy |
Description | This grant has led to additional funding from EPSRC and EuroFusion. It is led to ongoing collaborations with LLN, University of Rochester (LLE), STFC(CLF), Warwick and teams within Europe through EuroFusion. The EuroFusion activity is in shock ignitiuon apporach to ICF and is lead by the Universite Bordeaux (CELIA). |
First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
Sector | Energy |
Description | EAB ASAIL project |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a advisory committee |
Description | LLNL Academic Partnerships in ICF (Moody) |
Amount | $460,000 (USD) |
Organisation | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 10/2016 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | Plasma kinetics, pre-heat, and the emergence of strong shocks in laser fusion |
Amount | £1,092,538 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/P026796/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2017 |
End | 06/2020 |
Description | EuroFusion - Shock Ignition |
Organisation | University of Bordeaux |
Department | Center for Intense Lasers and Applications |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Experimental expertise. |
Collaborator Contribution | Our partner leads the project and put together the grant and consortium. |
Impact | None at present. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | LLNL Academic Partnerships in ICF (Moody) |
Organisation | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Proposed a science case to the NIF directorate in collaboration with Dr John Moody. Will lead to a new project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Collaboration which will involve extensive use of NIF facilities. |
Impact | Student recruitment in progress. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Shock Ignition |
Organisation | Atomic Weapons Establishment |
Department | Orion Laser Science Division |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | A collaboration between York, STFC and Warwick has lead to responsive mode submission to EPSRC. The title of the submission is 'Plasma kinetics, pre-heat, and the emergence of strong shocks in laser fusion: the hydro-kinetic regime' this is currently at panel for ranking. Project partners include the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and University of Rochester, USA, Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications (CELIA), Université Bordeaux, France and AWE (Orion), UK. |
Collaborator Contribution | AWE - funded PhD at Warwick, provide staff time and computer time to support research effort - in kind value ~£118,000 CELIA - provide staff time, computer access and share of access time to Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) - in-kind value ~ £1,880,000 LLE - collaborate on bidding for experiments, and running experiment, access to facility past shot data for some 200 shots. |
Impact | A grant application to EPSRC |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Shock Ignition |
Organisation | University of Bordeaux |
Department | Center for Intense Lasers and Applications |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | A collaboration between York, STFC and Warwick has lead to responsive mode submission to EPSRC. The title of the submission is 'Plasma kinetics, pre-heat, and the emergence of strong shocks in laser fusion: the hydro-kinetic regime' this is currently at panel for ranking. Project partners include the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and University of Rochester, USA, Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications (CELIA), Université Bordeaux, France and AWE (Orion), UK. |
Collaborator Contribution | AWE - funded PhD at Warwick, provide staff time and computer time to support research effort - in kind value ~£118,000 CELIA - provide staff time, computer access and share of access time to Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) - in-kind value ~ £1,880,000 LLE - collaborate on bidding for experiments, and running experiment, access to facility past shot data for some 200 shots. |
Impact | A grant application to EPSRC |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Shock Ignition |
Organisation | University of Rochester |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | A collaboration between York, STFC and Warwick has lead to responsive mode submission to EPSRC. The title of the submission is 'Plasma kinetics, pre-heat, and the emergence of strong shocks in laser fusion: the hydro-kinetic regime' this is currently at panel for ranking. Project partners include the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and University of Rochester, USA, Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications (CELIA), Université Bordeaux, France and AWE (Orion), UK. |
Collaborator Contribution | AWE - funded PhD at Warwick, provide staff time and computer time to support research effort - in kind value ~£118,000 CELIA - provide staff time, computer access and share of access time to Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) - in-kind value ~ £1,880,000 LLE - collaborate on bidding for experiments, and running experiment, access to facility past shot data for some 200 shots. |
Impact | A grant application to EPSRC |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | High-foot Implosion Workshop (March 22-24, 2016) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Engagement at work shop, discussion and provide evidence. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://e-reports-ext.llnl.gov/pdf/820074.pdf |