Neutron production from thermonuclear reactions in laser-generated plasmas

Abstract

The production of intense neutron beams via thermonuclear reactions in laser-generated plasmas is investigated theoretically. So far, state-of-the-art neutron beams are produced via laser-induced particle acceleration leading to high-energy particle beams that subsequently interact with a secondary target. Here we show that neutron beams of two orders of magnitude narrower bandwidth can be obtained from thermonuclear reactions in plasmas generated by Petawatt-class lasers. The intensity of such neutron beams is about one or two orders of magnitude lower than the one of the state-of-the-art laser-driven neutron beams. We study to this end the reaction ${}^2$H($d$, $n$)${}^3$He in plasmas generated by Petawatt-class lasers interacting with D${}_2$ gas jet targets and CD${}_2$ solid-state targets. The results also shows the possibility of direct measurements of reaction rates at low temperatures of astrophysical interests. In addition, the use of CD${}_2$ solid-state targets can also lead to great enhancements on the plasma screening compared to the case of D${}_2$ gas jet targets, opening new possibilities to study this so far unsolved issue in the field of astrophysics.

arXiv comment8 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Physics of Plasmas

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Cited by in corpus (2)

• Exploring laser-driven neutron sources for neutron capture cascades and the production of neutron-rich isotopes
• Quantum effects on plasma screening for thermonuclear reactions in laser-generated plasmas