Numerical demonstration of high-Z doping scheme on ignition-relevant scale implosion

Abstract

Although it has been demonstrated that high-Z doped plastic can suppress the Rayleigh–Taylor instability, its usability in direct-drive implosion design on mega-joule class reactors is still controversial. In this study, the radiation hydrodynamics code was validated by a planar target experiment of a brominated plastic target, since the result including high-Z strongly depends on the opacity model. Opacity for bromine ion based on the detailed configuration accounting model has better agreement with the experimental results compared to that of the average-ion model. Two-dimensional implosion simulations assuming a mega-joule driver were also conducted to estimate whether a brominated plastic ablator can suppress the hydrodynamic instability. It was revealed that a brominated plastic, which has an appropriate fraction of doping, can assist the generation of a high-density core by suppression of the hydrodynamic instability. A high-Z doped target can suppress the Rayleigh–Taylor instability at the foot-dri...