Implosion symmetry and /spl rho/R measurements on the National Ignition Facility from nascent 27/spl rarr/31 MeV tertiary protons

Abstract

Summary form only given, as follows. Tertiary protons with birth energies from /spl sim/27 MeV to 30.8 MeV will provide important information about implosion dynamics on the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a new initiative in inertial fusion. Three hypothetical implosions are considered in order to determine the utility of tertiary protons for all phases of the NIF: A gas-capsule implosion (0.7 kJ); a cryogenic-capsule implosion that fails to ignite (15 kJ); and a fully ignited cryogenic-capsule implosion (13,000 kJ). In each case, tertiaries escape from the capsule and convey critical information about implosion symmetry and areal densities. In addition, tertiaries should even prove useful for current laser facilities, such as the newly completed OMEGA Upgrade.