10 papers
Fusion-power amplification by compressive hydrodynamic fluctuations
Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch
Compressive fluctuations in hot plasma, including acoustic waves and compressible turbulence, increase the rate of fusion reactions. This power amplification comprises hydrodynamic…
Asymptotic behavior of the shear flow reactivity enhancement effect
Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch
Fusion reactivity is enhanced in the vicinity of strongly sheared flow due to the tendency of fast ions near the Gamow peak to travel long distances between collisions, thereby som…
Long-Pulse Fast Ignition in MagLIF
Benjamin Wang, Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch
The fast ignition paradigm for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) allows for extremely high gains but requires fuel to be heated very quickly to outpace hotspot disassembly and ener…
An ignition criterion for inertial fusion boosted by microturbulence
Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch
Turbulence enhances fusion reactivity, enabling ignition at lower temperature. A modified Lawson-like ignition criterion is derived for inertially confined plasmas harboring turbul…
Analytical models for the enhancement of fusion reactivity by turbulence
Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch
The reactivity of fusion plasma depends not only on its local density and temperature but also, through a recently identified kinetic effect, on the relative velocities of nearby f…
Enhancement to Fusion Reactivity in Sheared Flows
Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch
Sheared flow increases the reactivity of fusion plasma. In unmagnetized plasma with flow gradients comparable to the mean free path of reacting ions, fusion reactivity can be more…
Evolution of the Radiative Thermal Instability in a Confined Medium
Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch
Thermally bistable fluid tends to self-organize into clouds of hot and cold material, which are internally uniform and separated by thin conduction fronts. The evolution of these c…
Improved Ion Heating in Fast Ignition by Pulse Shaping
Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch
The fast ignition paradigm for inertial fusion offers increased gain and tolerance of asymmetry by compressing fuel at low entropy and then quickly igniting a small region. Because…
Fast Correlation Heating in Moderately Coupled Electron-Ion Plasmas
Thomas E. Foster, Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch
If the electrons in a plasma are suddenly heated, the resulting change in Debye shielding causes the ion kinetic energy to quickly increase. For the first time, this correlation he…
Temperature separation under compression of moderately-coupled plasma
H. Fetsch, T. E. Foster, N. J. Fisch
In moderately-coupled plasmas, a significant fraction of the internal energy resides in electric fields. As these plasmas are heated or compressed, the shifting partition of energy…