Deciphering the Kinetic Structure of Multi-Ion Plasma Shocks

Abstract

Strong collisional shocks in multi-ion plasmas are featured in many high-energy-density environments, including Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) implosions. However, their basic structure and its dependence on key parameters (e.g., the Mach number and the plasma ion composition) are poorly understood, and controversies in that regard remain in the literature. Using a high-fidelity Vlasov-Fokker-Planck code, iFP, and direct comparisons to multi-ion hydrodynamic simulations and semi-analytic predictions, we critically examine steady-state planar shocks in D-3He plasmas and put forward a resolution to these controversies.

arXiv comment5 pages, 4 figures; submitted for publication in Physical Review Letters

Cited by in corpus (8)

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• Plasma kinetics: Discrete Boltzmann modelling and Richtmyer-Meshkov instability
• Discrete Boltzmann Modeling of Plasma Shock Wave
• An Eulerian Vlasov-Fokker-Planck Algorithm for Spherical Implosion Simulations of Inertial Confinement Fusion Capsules
• Experimental Measurements of Ion Heating in Collisional Plasma Shocks and Interpenetrating Supersonic Plasma Flows
• Observation of Shock-Front Separation in Multi-Ion-Species Collisional Plasma Shocks
• Fully kinetic simulations of strong steady-state collisional planar plasma shocks
• Constraints on Ion Velocity Distributions from Fusion Product Spectroscopy