On the plasma quasineutrality under oscillatory confinement based on a nanosecond vacuum discharge

One of the main problems for inertial electrostatic confinement devices with electron injection is the space charge neutralization. This work is devoted to the analysis of the problem of plasma quasineutrality in the scheme of plasma oscillatory confinement based on nanosecond vacuum discharge (NVD). Electrodynamics modeling of the processes of aneutronic fusion of proton–boron showed that the plasma in the NVD, and especially on the discharge axis, really corresponds to a quasineutral regime, which is rather different from the well-known scheme of periodically oscillating plasma spheres (POPS). In this case, small oscillations in the NVD are a mechanism of resonant ion heating, unlike coherent compressions in the original POPS model. The scaling of the fusion power turns out to be close to the fusion scheme with POPS, but differs significantly in the values of the parameter of quasineutrality and the compression ratio.

α particle space distribution from fusion reactions in Boron irradiated by mono-energetic protons

This work presents results regarding the p + 11B → 3α + 8.7MeV aneutronic fusion reaction. We obtained such results by directing a 0.675 MeV proton beam from a Tandetron accelerator to a solid Boron sample, varying the incidence angle. Three different detectors were used to reveal the alpha particles emitted during the experiments. The evidence obtained leads us to propose an innovative scheme to investigate the yield of the aneutronic reaction when the proton beam is directed against a 11B laser induced plasma.

New scheme to produce aneutronic fusion reactions by laser-accelerated ions

The development of high-intensity lasers has opened the field of nuclear reactions initiated by laser-accelerated particles. One possible application is the production of aneutronic fusion reactions for clean fusion energy production. We propose an innovative scheme based on the use of two targets and present the first results obtained with the ELFIE facility (at the LULI Laboratory) for the proton–boron-11 (p–11B) fusion reaction. A proton beam, accelerated by the Target Normal Sheat Acceleration mechanism using a short laser pulse (12 J, 350 fs, 1.056 µm, 1019 W cm−2), is sent onto a boron target to initiate fusion reactions. The number of reactions is measured with particle diagnostics such as CR39 track-detectors, active nuclear diagnostic, Thomson Parabola, magnetic spectrometer, and time-of-flight detectors that collect the fusion products: the α-particles. Our experiment shows promising results for this scheme. In the present paper, we discuss its principle and advantages compared with another scheme that uses a single target and heating mechanisms directly with photons to initiate the same p–11B fusion reaction.

Fusion 2050 – European and Polish Perspective

Fusion, in all its varieties, is a very current subject of science and technology. The results of strongly exothermic reaction of thermonuclear fusion between nuclei of deuterium and tritium are: helium nuclei and neutrons, plus considerable kinetic energy of neutrons of over 14 MeV. DT nuclides synthesis reaction is probably not the most favorable one for energy production, but is the most advanced technologically. More efficient would be possibly an aneutronic fusion. The EU by its EURATOM agenda prepared a Road Map for research and implementation of Fusion as a commercial method of thermonuclear energy generation in the time horizon of 2050.The milestones on this road are tokomak experiments JET, ITER and DEMO, and neutron experiment IFMIF. There is a hope, that by engagement of the national government, and all research and technical fusion and plasma communities, part of this Road Map may be realized in Poland. The infrastructure build for fusion experiments may be also used for material engineering research, chemistry, biomedical, associated with environment protection, power engineering, security, etc. Construction of such research and industrial accelerator and tokomak infrastructure may have potentially a profound meaning for the development of science and technology in Poland.