Characterization of self-generated E and B Fields in the coronae of direct-drive implosions at OMEGA

ORAL

Abstract

Self-generated electric and magnetic fields in direct-drive ICF implosions are caused by for instance plasma pressure gradients and the Biermann battery effect. These fields may affect the implosion by redirecting heat flows, seeding and amplifying hydrodynamic instabilities, and modifying hot electron transport. However, the precise nature of experimentally observed field structures is poorly understood. To determine the structure and effects of the fields, target normal sheath acceleration-based proton radiographs were obtained from exploding pusher implosion experiments conducted at OMEGA. We use the proton radiographs and reconstructions of the electric and magnetic fields from them, in concert with numerical simulations to assess potential field generation mechanisms in the corona.

*This work was supported in part by the U.S. DOE and NLUF.

Presenters

  • Yousef Lawrence

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Authors

  • Yousef Lawrence

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Graeme D Sutcliffe

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Jacob A Pearcy

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Fernando Garcia Rubio

    • University of Rochester
    • Laboratory for Laser Energetics
  • Tim M Johnson

    • MIT
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Christopher W Wink

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Maria Gatu-Johnson

    • MIT
  • Chikang Li

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT