Calculations of nonlocal electron energy transport in laser produced plasmas in one and two dimensions using the velocity dependent Krook model

Abstract

This paper extends the velocity dependent Krook (VDK) model, developed at NRL over the last 4 years, to two dimensions and presents a variety of calculations. One dimensional spherical calculations presented here investigate shock ignition. Comparing VDK calculations to a flux limit calculation shows that the laser profile has to be retuned and some gain is sacrificed due to preheat of the fuel. However, preheat is by no means a show stopper for laser fusion. The recent foil acceleration experiments at the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics are modeled with two-dimensional simulations. The radial loss is very important to consider in modeling the foil acceleration. Once this is done, the VDK model gives the best agreement with the experiment.