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We present experimental results of laser-to-proton conversion efficiency as a function of lateral confinement of the refluxing electrons. Experiments were carried out using the T-Cubed laser at the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan. We demonstrate that the laser-to-proton conversion efficiency increases by 50% with increased confinement of the target from surroundings with respect to a flat target of the same thickness. Three-dimensional hybrid particle-in-cell simulations using LSP code agree with the experimental data. The adopted target design is suitable for high repetition rate operation as well as for Inertial Confinement Fusion applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation of strong, self-generated electric fields (GV/m) in direct-drive, inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) capsules has been reported [Rygg et al., Science 319, 1223 (2008); Li et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 225001 (2008)]. A candidate explanation for the origin of these fields based on charge separation across a plasma shock front was recently proposed [Amendt et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 51 124048 (2009)]. The question arises whether such electric fields in imploding capsules can have observable consequences on target performance. Two well-known anomalies come to mind: (1) an observed ≈2× greater-than-expected deficit of neutrons in an equimolar D3He fuel mixture compared with hydrodynamically equivalent D [Rygg et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 052702 (2006)] and DT [Herrmann et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 056312 (2009)] fuels, and (2) a similar shortfall of neutrons when trace amounts of argon are mixed with D in indirect-drive implosions [Lindl et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 339 (2004)]. A new mechanism based on barodiffusion (or pressure gradient-driven diffusion) in a plasma is proposed that incorporates the presence of shock-generated electric fields to explain the reported anomalies. For implosions performed at the Omega laser facility [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)], the (low Mach number) return shock has an appreciable scale length over which the lighter D ions can diffuse away from fuel center. The depletion of D fuel is estimated and found to lead to a corresponding reduction in neutrons, consistent with the anomalies observed in experiments for both argon-doped D fuels and D3He equimolar mixtures. The reverse diffusional flux of the heavier ions toward fuel center also increases the pressure from a concomitant increase in electron number density, resulting in lower stagnation pressures and larger imploded cores in agreement with gated, self-emission, x-ray imaging data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The claims made in the preceding Comment are categorically refuted. Further evidence to support the conclusions of our original paper is herein provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown by means of multi-fluid particle-in-cell simulations that convergence of the spherical shock wave that propagates through the inner gas of inertial confinement fusion-relevant experiments is accompanied by a separation of deuterium (D) and tritium (T) ions across the shock front. Deuterons run ahead of the tritons due to their lower mass and higher charge-to-mass ratio and can reach the center several tens of picoseconds before the tritons. The rising edge of the DD and TT fusion rate is also temporally separated by the same amount, which should be an observable in experiments and would be a direct proof of the 'stratification conjecture' on the shock front [Amendt et al., Phys. Plasmas 18, 056308 (2011)]. Moreover, dephasing of the D and T shock components in terms of density and temperature leads to a degradation of the DT fusion yield as the converging shock first rebounds from the fuel center (shock yield). For the parameters of this study, the second peak in the fusion yield (compression yield) is strongly dependent on the choice of the flux limiter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anomalous reduction of the fusion yields by 50% and anomalous scaling of the bum-averaged ion temperatures with the ion-species fraction has been observed for the first time in D3He-filled shock-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions. Two ion kinetic mechanisms are used to explain the anomalous observations: thermal decoupling of the D and 3He populations and diffusive species separation. The observed insensitivity of ion temperature to a varying deuterium fraction is shown to be a signature of ion thermal decoupling in shock-heated plasmas. The bum-averaged deuterium fraction calculated from the experimental data demonstrates a reduction in the average core deuterium density, as predicted by simulations that use a diffusion model. Accounting for each of these effects in simulations reproduces the observed yield trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strong nonhydrodynamic mechanism generating atomic fuel-shell mix has been observed in strongly shocked inertial confinement fusion implosions of thin deuterated-plastic shells filled with 3He gas. These implosions were found to produce D3He-proton shock yields comparable to implosions of identical shells filled with a hydroequivalent 50∶50 D 3He gas mixture. Standard hydrodynamic mixing cannot explain this observation, as hydrodynamic modeling including mix predicts a yield an order of magnitude lower than was observed. Instead, these results can be attributed to ion diffusive mix at the fuel-shell interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]