Abstract
The detection of the ionic products of low-rate fusion reactions, and in particular of the 11B(p,alpha)2alpha, is one of the recognized main problems in experiments where these reactions are initiated by tailored interaction of intense and high-energy lasers with matter. A thorough description of this important issue, with the critical comparison of the diagnostic opportunities, is indeed so far missing. In this work, we describe the common diagnostic methodologies used for the detection of the alpha particles generated by the 11B(p,alpha)2alpha reaction and, for each, we outline advantages and limitations, with considerations that can be also applied to other low-rate fusion reactions. We show here that, in general, the univocal characterization of the alpha products coming from this reaction can be achieved by the simultaneous use of several diagnostics tools placed in close proximity.
Highlights
Nuclear fusion is a promising mechanism for future electric plants
In the polymer types of Solid-State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTD), damages are caused by the breaking of the long polymer chains due to incoming radiation
Track detectors are widely used in different fields. They are fundamental in environments heavily affected by transient electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) of high intensity, typical in high-power laser-matter interactions [55], where active electronic detectors will not be usable and even often damaged by the high EMP levels
Summary
Nuclear fusion is a promising mechanism for future electric plants. Fusion reactors will help to resolve global energetic problem and, at the same time to decrease the worldwide pollution of air, water, and soil significantly. An example is a campaign performed at the ABC laser facility [38] with scheme 1 of Figure 2A, where laser pulses at 1054 nm, 2.5 ns duration, energy of several tens of joules, and intensity higher than 1015 W cm−2, were directed on borondoped plastic targets leading to the observation of fewer than 105 alphas [20] Another type of experiment with an intrinsically low number of fusion yield is described in references [25, 26, 37]. In this case, the 110-mJ femtosecond ECLIPSE laser was used at ∼2 × 1018 W cm−2 intensity, according to scheme 2 of Figure 2B, to accelerate protons to energy sufficient to initiate the p+11B reaction toward a massive boron target. Detailed discussions on this topic require tailored calculations and measurements according to the specific conditions of the plasma generated in each situation, that we believe are far from the purposes of this paper
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