Publications

Effects of magnetization on fusion product trapping and secondary neutron spectra

Knapp, P.F.; Schmit, Paul S.; Hansen, Stephanie B.; Gomez, Matthew R.; Hahn, K.D.; Sinars, Daniel S.; Peterson, Kyle J.; Slutz, S.A.; Sefkow, Adam B.; Awe, T.J.; Harding, Eric H.; Jennings, C.A.; Desjarlais, M.P.; Chandler, Gordon A.; Cooper, Gary W.; Cuneo, M.E.; Geissel, Matthias G.; Harvey-Thompson, Adam J.; Porter, John L.; Rochau, G.A.; Rovang, Dean C.; Ruiz, Carlos L.; Savage, Mark E.; Smith, Ian C.; Stygar, William A.; Herrmann, M.C.

By magnetizing the fusion fuel in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) systems, the required stagnation pressure and density can be relaxed dramatically. This happens because the magnetic field insulates the hot fuel from the cold pusher and traps the charged fusion burn products. This trapping allows the burn products to deposit their energy in the fuel, facilitating plasma self-heating. Here, we report on a comprehensive theory of this trapping in a cylindrical DD plasma magnetized with a purely axial magnetic field. Using this theory, we are able to show that the secondary fusion reactions can be used to infer the magnetic field-radius product, BR, during fusion burn. This parameter, not ρR, is the primary confinement parameter in magnetized ICF. Using this method, we analyze data from recent Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion experiments conducted on the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories. We show that in these experiments BR ≈ 0.34(+0.14/-0.06) MG cm, a ∼ 14x increase in BR from the initial value, and confirming that the DD-fusion tritons are magnetized at stagnation. This is the first experimental verification of charged burn product magnetization facilitated by compression of an initial seed magnetic flux.