Simulations of compression and thermonuclear burn of a radiation-driven inertial-fusion target

Abstract

One-dimensional numerical simulations of compression and burn of a reactor-size inertial fusion target imploded by a homogeneous thermal radiation field are presented. This target consists of a multi-layered fusion capsule that is surrounded by a solid gold casing whose radius is twice the outer capsule radius. The target absorbs about 5.4 MJ input radiation energy, about 55% of which is absorbed by the capsule while the rest is lost into the casing. The implosion yields an output thermonuclear energy of 770 MJ so that the capsule gain is of the order of 250 and the target gain is about 140. Larger values of the casing to capsule radii ratio, probably required for achieving a symmetric implosion, would lead to smaller gains, but would not change substantially the qualitative physics aspects discussed in this paper.