Opportunities to study astrophysically-relevant nuclear reactions in plasmas using the inertial confinement fusion platform
Oral-In-person
Abstract
High energy density (HED) plasmas generated in laser-driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions provide unparalleled laboratory conditions for studying stellar-relevant nuclear reactions, including a hot and dense plasma environment and uniquely high achievable neutron flux. These experiments have the potential to address long-standing questions about plasma effects on nuclear reactions hitherto experimentally inaccessible, including nuclear rates with thermally distributed reactants, plasma screening, and reactions involving nuclei in excited states. The NIF and OMEGA lasers are two primary facilities for executing experiments of this type. This contribution will present an overview of the opportunities provided by this platform, including highlighting achievable plasma conditions and available diagnostic capabilities. Some initial and ongoing nuclear astrophysics-relevant results will be shown, and future directions discussed.
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Publication: M. Gatu Johnson et al., "The inertial confinement fusion experimental platform for studies of nuclear reactions relevant to nuclear astrophysics", submitted to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (2025).
M. Gatu Johnson, G. Hale, M. Paris, M. Wiescher and A. Zylstra, "Editorial: Using high energy density plasmas for nuclear experiments relevant to nuclear astrophysics", Front. Phys. 11:1180821 (2023).
Presenters
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Maria Gatu-Johnson
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology