On Thursday, 30th of March at 11:00 am, there will be a GoLP VIP Seminar by Peter A Norreys (University of Oxford). The event will take place at Anfiteatro Abreu Faro – Complexo I at IST.

Title: Towards More Robust Ignition of Inertial Fusion Targets

Abstract: Following the hugely significant 1.3 MJ fusion milestone at the National Ignition Facility [1] (where the Lawson criterion was exceeded in a laboratory setting for inertial fusion for the first time) and the subsequent demonstration of energy gain there, the further development of inertial confinement fusion, both as a source for future electricity generation and for high energy density physics applications, requires the development of more robust ignition concepts at current laser facility energy scales. This can potentially be achieved by auxiliary heating the hotspot of low convergence wetted foam implosions where hydrodynamic and parametric instabilities are minimised [2]-[6]. In this seminar, I will talk about the first multi-dimensional Vlasov-Maxwell and particle-in-cell simulations to model this collisionless interaction, only recently made possible by access to the largest modern supercomputers [7]. The key parameter of interest is the maximum fraction of energy that can be extracted from the electron beams into the hotspot plasma. The simulations indicate that significant coupling efficiencies are achieved over a wide range of beam parameters and spatial configurations. Other approaches to improved performance will also be discussed, such as the use of 193 nm laser pulses (both stand alone or in combination with third harmonic of Nd:glass at 351 nm [6]) and the Nuckolls’ dual hemisphere approach [8]. The implications for experimental tests on the National Ignition Facility are discussed. In addition, I will outline some of the other research being undertaken in my group at Oxford, devoted to multi-petawatt laser-plasma interactions.

[1] H. Abu-Shawareb et al. Physical Review Letters 129 075001 (2022).
[2] P.A. Norreys Bulletin of the American Physical Society 59(15), GO6.00011 (2014).
[3] N. Ratan et al., Physical Review E 95, 013211 (2017).
[4] P.A. Norreys, et. al., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A 379: 20200005 (2021).
[5] R.W. Paddock et al., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A 379: 20200224 (2021).
[6] R.W. Paddock et al., Journal of Plasma 88:3 ARTN 905880314 (2022).
[7] J.J. Lee et al., Physics of Plasmas 30, 022702 (2023).
[8] R.W. Paddock et al. DoE OFES Basic Research Needs White Paper (2022).

Short bio: I was appointed the University of Oxford’s Professor of Inertial Fusion Science in 2012, having been Individual Merit Fellow of the Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (2007-2021). During my career, I have published 348 scientific papers and received 24,372 citations. My current h-index is 75 (Google Scholar). I was Divisional Associate Editor for Physical Review Letters for two consecutive terms (from 2011 until 2017).  I am a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Institute of Physics and am William Penney Fellow to AWE plc. My achievements include the 2006 American Physical Society’s ‘Excellence in Plasma Physics Research Award’, the 2007 Daiwa Prize and the 2013 Institute of Physics’ Cecelia Payne Gaposchkin Medal and Prize. I am Supernumerary Fellow to University College Oxford and am Dean of Degrees there.  Also, I am now Director of Graduate Studies for Atomic and Laser Physics at Oxford, responsible for the recruitment, teaching, assessment and progression of seventy-five graduate students at any one time. My scientific highlights have focused on high energy density plasma physics using high power lasers, among them 45 Physical Review Letters, 3 articles in Science, along with 14 letters to Nature, Nature Physics, Nature Communications, and Scientific Reports, supported by authorship of many of the supporting grants to the research councils (with eminent colleagues in the UK, EU, US and Japan).