Nuclear engineering

Physics

Yield (engineering)

Fusion

Omega

Deuterium

Tritium

Nuclear fusion

Inertial confinement fusion

Engineering

Philosophy

RADIUS

Atomic physics

Nuclear physics

Materials science

Implosion

Fusion power

Computer science

Linguistics

Quantum mechanics

Thermonuclear fusion

Plasma

Computer security

Thermodynamics

Physical Review Letters

Statistical modeling of experimental and simulation databases has enabled the development of an accurate predictive capability for deuterium-tritium layered cryogenic implosions at the OMEGA laser [V. Gopalaswamy et al.,Nature 565, 581 (2019)]. In this letter, a physics-based statistical mapping framework is described and used to uncover the dependencies of the fusion yield. This model is used to identify and quantify the degradation mechanisms of the fusion yield in direct-drive implosions on OMEGA. The yield is found to be reduced by the ratio of laser beam to target radius, the asymmetry in inferred ion temperatures from the ℓ=1 mode, the time span over which tritium fuel has decayed, and parameters related to the implosion hydrodynamic stability. When adjusted for tritium decay and ℓ=1 mode, the highest yield in OMEGA cryogenic implosions is predicted to exceed 2×1014 fusion reactions.Received 11 May 2021Accepted 21 July 2021DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.105001© 2021 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasDirect driveInertial confinement fusionPhysical SystemsLaser inertial confinementPlasma Physics

Experimentally Inferred Fusion Yield Dependencies of OMEGA Inertial Confinement Fusion Implosions