Preliminary results from the LMJ-PETAL experiment on hot electrons characterization in the context of shock ignition

Year: 2020

Authors: Baton S.D., Colaïtis A., Rousseaux C., Boutoux G., Brygo C., Jacquet L., Koenig M., Batani D., Casner A., Le Bel E., Raffestin D., Tentori A., Tikhonchuk V., Trela J., Reverdin C., Le-Deroff L., Theobald W., Cristoforetti G., Gizzi LA., Koester P., Labate L., Shigemori K.

Autors Affiliation: a Laboratoire pour l’Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, LULI, CNRS-Ecole Polytechnique-CEA-Sorbonne Universités, UMR 7605, F-91128 Palaiseau, France
b Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications, CELIA, Université de Bordeaux-CNRS-CEA, UMR 5107, F-33405 Talence, France
c CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon, France
d CEA, DAM, CESTA, F-33114 Le Barp, France
e Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
f Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory, CNR-INO, Pisa, Italy
g Institute of Laser Engineering, University of Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

Abstract: In the Shock Ignition scheme, the spike pulse intensity is well above the threshold of parametric instabilities,
which produce a considerable amount of hot electrons that could be beneficial or detrimental to the ignition. To
study their impact, an experiment has been carried out on the LMJ-PETAL facility with a goal to generate a
strong shock inside a plastic layer under plasma conditions relevant to full-scale shock ignition targets. To
evaluate the effect of hot electrons on the shock characteristics, laser temporal smoothing was either switched on
or off, which in turns varies the quantity of hot electrons being generated. In this paper, we present preliminary
results obtained during the experiment dedicated to the hot electron characterization. We present also calculations
for the second part of the experiment, scheduled in 2020 and focused on the shock characterization.

Journal/Review: HIGH ENERGY DENSITY PHYSICS

Volume: 36      Pages from: 100796-1  to: 100796-7

More Information: The PETAL laser was designed and constructed by CEA under the financial auspices of the Conseil Regional d´Aquitaine, the French Ministry of Research, and the European Union.
The SPECTIX and CRACC-X diagnostics were designed and commissioned on the LMJ-PETAL facility in the framework of PETAL+ Project coordinated by the University of Bordeaux and funded by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche under grant ANR-10-EQPX-42-01 and the PetaPhys Project under grant ANR-10-IDEX-03-02.
This work and the LMJ-PETAL experiment were supported by Association Lasers et Plasma (ALP) and CEA and within the framework of the EUROfusion Enabling Research Projects, ENR-IFE19-CEA-01 and AWP17-ENR-IFE-CEA-01. They have received funding from the Euratom research and training programs 2014-2018 and 2019-2020 respectively under grant agreement No 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.
KeyWords: Shock Ignition, Inertial Confinement Fusion, Stimulated Raman Scattering
DOI: 10.1016/j.hedp.2020.100796