High-Energy-Density Physics at the National Ignition Facility

At modern laser facilities, energy densities ranging from 1 Mbar to many hundreds of gigabars can regularly be achieved. These high-energy states of matter last for mere moments, measured in nanoseconds to tens of picoseconds, but during those times numerous high-precision instruments can be employe...

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Published inAnnual review of nuclear and particle science Vol. 67; no. 1; pp. 213 - 230
Main Authors Hurricane, O.A, Herrmann, M.C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Annual Reviews 12.10.2017
Subjects
compressible hydrodynamics
fusion
high energy density
ionization
lasers
plasma instabilities
plasma physics
radiation transfer
shock waves
X-rays
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Summary:At modern laser facilities, energy densities ranging from 1 Mbar to many hundreds of gigabars can regularly be achieved. These high-energy states of matter last for mere moments, measured in nanoseconds to tens of picoseconds, but during those times numerous high-precision instruments can be employed, revealing remarkable compressed matter physics, radiation-hydrodynamics physics, laser-matter interaction physics, and nuclear physics processes. We review the current progress of high-energy-density physics at the National Ignition Facility and describe the underlying physical principles.
ISSN:0163-8998
1545-4134
DOI:10.1146/annurev-nucl-101916-123227