Inhibition of turbulence in inertial-confinement-fusion hot spots by viscous dissipation.

Abstract

Achieving ignition in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) requires the formation of a high-temperature (>10 keV) central hot spot. Turbulence has been suggested as a mechanism for degrading the hot-spot conditions by altering transport properties, introducing colder, mixed material, or reducing the conversion of radially directed kinetic energy to hot-spot heating. We show, however, that the hot spot is very viscous, and the assumption of turbulent conditions in the hot spot is incorrect. This work presents the first high-resolution, three-dimensional simulations of National Ignition Facility (NIF) implosion experiments using detailed knowledge of implosion dynamics and instability seeds and including an accurate model of physical viscosity. We find that when viscous effects are neglected, the hot spot can exhibit a turbulent kinetic energy cascade. Viscous effects, however, are significant and strongly damp small-scale velocity structures, with a hot-spot Reynolds number in the range of only 10-100.