Tunable proton stopping power of deuterium-tritium by mixing heavy ion dopants for fast ignition

Abstract

The theoretical model of charged-particle stopping power for the Coulomb logarithm lnΛb ≥ 2 plasma [Phys. Rev. Lett., 20, 3059 (1993)] is extended to investigate the transport of the energetic protons in a compressed deuterium-tritium (DT) pellet mixed with heavy ion dopants. It shows that an increase of mixed-ion charge state and density ratio results in the substantial enhancement of the proton stopping power, which leads to a shorter penetration distance and an earlier appearance of the Bragg peak with a higher magnitude. The effect of hot-spot mix on the proton-driven fast ignition model is discussed. It is found that ignition time required for a small mixed hot-spot can be significantly reduced with slightly increased beam energy. Nevertheless, the ignition cannot maintain for a long time due to increasing alpha-particle penetration distance and energy loss from mechanical work and thermal conduction at high temperatures.