Ion Heating and Thermonuclear Neutron Production from High-Intensity Subpicosecond Laser Pulses Interacting with Underdense Plasmas

S. Fritzler (1) , Z. Najmudin (2) , Victor Malka (1) , K. Krushelnick (2) , C. Marle (2) , B. Walton (2) , M. S. Wei (2) , R.J. Clarke (3) , A.E. Dangor (2)

1 LULI - Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des lasers intenses
2 Blackett Laboratory
3 CLF - Central Laser Facility

Thermonuclear fusion neutrons produced by D(d,n)3He reactions have been measured from the interaction of a high-intensity laser with underdense deuterium plasmas. For an input laser energy of 62 J, more than (1.0±0.2)×10^6 neutrons with a mean kinetic energy of (2.5±0.2)  MeV were detected. These neutrons were observed to have an isotropic angular emission profile. By comparing these measurements with those using a secondary solid CD2 target it was determined that neutrons are produced from direct ion heating during this interaction.

Domains: Optics [physics.optics]

S. Fritzler, Z. Najmudin, Victor Malka, K. Krushelnick, C. Marle, et al.. Ion Heating and Thermonuclear Neutron Production from High-Intensity Subpicosecond Laser Pulses Interacting with Underdense Plasmas. Physical Review Letters, 2002, 89 (16), pp.165004. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.165004⟩. ⟨hal-00519015⟩