Report of the National Ignition Facility Target Physics Program Review Committee

Abstract

The Department of Energy's (DOE) National Ignition Facility (NIF) has been under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) since 1997. This multiple-beam facility is designed to be a source of powerful focused laser light pulses for experiments in support of the nuclear weapons Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP), NIF will be operated by LLNL as national facility to elucidate high energy density science important to the weapons SSP and to achieving inertial confinement fusion (ICF) ignition. In addition, it will provide the nation with a valuable tool for exploring basic high energy density science. In September of 1999, projected cost overruns and schedule delays were identified in the NIF project, which have necessitated development of new construction and deployment plans and schedules. These affect science programs planned for NIF and DOE programs that the NIF is meant to support. The NIF Programs Review Committee (PRC) requested a review from this Committee of the impact of current NIF plans on the DOE SSP. The charge to the Committee is included in Appendix 1. The Committee was specifically asked to: (1) Review the current plans for the DOE Defense Programs Campaigns use of the NIF with emphasis on how to maximizemore » the utility of the NIF to the SSP. (2) Assess the importance and timeliness to the weapons program of the planned experiments, particularly during NIF's ramp up phase. (3) Judge the overall impact of the new deployment options on the probability of the campaigns attaining their stated goals in the broadest sense. (4) Review ways of mitigating the impacts of delays, such as expanding the use of other facilities before and during the ramp up phase of the NIF, and minimizing the ''learning curve'' for use of the NIF. (5) Review the recent progress in ignition target physics, new ignition designs with potentially higher yield, and the utility of experiments in preparation for ignition before the facility has all 192 beams operational.« less