A Quasilinear Model for the Two-Plasmon-Decay Instability in Inhomogeneous Plasmas

A quasilinear-Zakharov model of two-plasmon decay is described and its validity tested, first by comparing the diffusion of test-particle orbits against quasilinear predictions for cases of interest to polar-drive ignition, and second by comparing heated electron-distribution functions with reduced particle-in-cell calculations using the code RPIC. The expected preheat arising from the predicted hot-electron temperature and hot-electron flux from the model calculations is discussed. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inertial Confinement Fusion under Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC52-08NA28302.