Magnetizing laser-driven inertial fusion

implosions
10 June 2022, by Ingrid Fadelli

Phys.org. "Applying a magnetic field to the

implosions can strap the charged plasma particles
to the B-field and improve their chances of fusion.
However, since magnetic field can restrict plasma
particle motion only in the direction across the field
lines and not in the direction along the applied field
lines, this can introduce differences between the
two directions that affect the implosion shape."

Over the past decade, several physicists

investigated the possible effects of magnetizing
fusion implosions. Most of their studies, however,
were numerical in nature and did not test
Unmagnetized implosion image and magnetized image -
showing that the applied magnetic field flattens the
hypotheses in an experimental setting.
implosion shape. Credit: Bose et al.
Bose and his colleagues thus decided to conduct a
series of tests to empirically determine what
happens to the shape of inertial fusion implosions
Nuclear fusion is a widely studied process through under a strong magnetization. Their experiments
which atomic nuclei of a low atomic number fuse were specifically designed to explore the properties
together to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing of strongly magnetized plasmas, by producing
a large amount of energy. Nuclear fusion reactions unique plasma conditions. In these conditions, the
can be produced using a method known as inertial plasma ions and electrons are both magnetized.
confinement fusion, which entails the use of
powerful lasers to implode a fuel capsule and "It is worth noting that the magnetization of plasma
produce plasma. ions is very difficult to attain and has not been
studied at high power lasers," Bose explained. "To
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of conduct our tests, we used an extremely high 50T
Technology (MIT), University of Delaware, magnetic field, much higher than the ones used in
University of Rochester, the Lawrence Livermore previous experiments, and used shocks to drive the
National Laboratory, Imperial College London, and implosion experiments at the OMEGA laser facility.
University of Rome La Sapienza have recently We found, for the first time, that this field flattened
showed what happens to this implosion when one the shape of the implosion, such that it became
applies a strong magnetic field to the fuel capsule more oblate."
used for inertial confinement fusion. Their paper,
published in Physical Review Letters, The researchers carried out their experiments at
demonstrates that strong magnetic fields flatten the OMEGA laser facility, located at the Laboratory
the shape of inertial fusion implosions. for Laser Energetics in Rochester, New York.
Specifically, they applied high B-fields (i.e., with
"In inertial confinement fusion, a millimeter-size strengths 1000 times higher than those of typical
spherical capsule is imploded using high-power bar magnets), to a millimeter-size spherical
lasers for nuclear fusion," Arijit Bose, one of the capsule, which was heated to over 100 million K
researchers who carried out the study, told using a laser-driven shock.

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 "The shock heating and applied B-field produced
unique plasma conditions with strongly magnetized
electrons and ions which were important for the
experiments," Bose said. "Through simulations, we
then determined that this oblate shape is caused by
the suppression of heat flow (perpendicular to the
direction of the magnetic field) in the strongly
magnetized plasma."

The recent work by this team of researchers

provides new valuable insight about inertial fusion
implosions and the effects that magnetic fields can
have on them. In the future, the method they
outlined could be used by other teams to produce
strongly magnetized electrons and ions in
experimental settings, using high-powered lasers.

"Most notably, we were the first to observe that the

applied magnetic field flattened the implosion
shape," Bose added. "In our next studies, we plan
to use the 'recipe' outlined in our paper to conduct
more experiments aimed at producing strongly
magnetized electrons and ions to investigate the
effect of magnetization on transport properties."

More information: A. Bose et al, Effect of

Strongly Magnetized Electrons and Ions on Heat
Flow and Symmetry of Inertial Fusion Implosions,
Physical Review Letters (2022). DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.195002

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APA citation: Magnetizing laser-driven inertial fusion implosions (2022, June 10) retrieved 11 June 2022
from https://phys.org/news/2022-06-magnetizing-laser-driven-inertial-fusion-implosions.html

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