On the ignition of small thermonuclear assemblies

A novel way for igniting small thermonuclear assemblies by inertial confinement is proposed, by replacing the positive mass of an imploding dense star with the negative mass in the reference frame of a rapidly rotating thermonuclear target. According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, this negative mass can be orders of magnitude larger than the positive mass density of a neutron star. This novel concept also replaces the Plutonium 239 “spark plugs” of large thermonuclear devices with a shell of natural uranium surrounding a target composed of DT or Li6D.Unlike the ignition by a laser – or particle beam – induced spherical implosion, this configuration, similar to that of an imploding star is not only Rayleigh–Taylor stable, but it can be realized with intense relativistic electron or ion beams, with an energy of about 100 MJ, having a short range in the dense high Z natural uranium shell.

Laser-supported hydrothermal wave in low-dense porous substance

The generalized theory of terawatt laser pulse interaction with a low-dense porous substance of light chemical elements including laser light absorption and energy transfer in a wide region of parameter variation is developed on the base of the model of laser-supported hydrothermal wave in a partially homogenized plasma. Laser light absorption, hydrodynamic motion, and electron thermal conductivity are implemented in the hydrodynamic code, according to the degree of laser-driven homogenization of the laser-produced plasma. The results of numerical simulations obtained by using the hydrodynamic code are presented. The features of laser-supported hydrothermal wave in both possible cases of a porous substance with a density smaller and larger than critical plasma density are discussed along with the comparison with the experiments. The results are addressed to the development of design of laser thermonuclear target as well as and powerful neutron and X-ray sources.

Transient Formation of Super-Explosives under High Pressure for Fast Ignition

Dense matter, if put under high pressure, can undergo a transformation from an atomic to a molecular configuration, where the electron orbits go into lower energy levels. If the rise in pressure is very sudden, for example by a strong shock wave, the electrons change their orbits rapidly under the emission of photons, which for more than 100 Mbar can reach keV energies. With the opacity of dense matter going in proportion to the density, the photons can be efficiently released from the surface of the compressed matter by a rarefaction wave. The so produced X-ray photons can be used for the fast ignition of a thermonuclear target.The proposed mechanism may be also responsible for the large keV X-ray bursts observed in exploding wire arrays, which can not be explained by conversion of kinetic into thermal energy.