Lawson Criterion for Ignition Exceeded in an Inertial Fusion Experiment
Affiliations
- 1 General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186, USA.
- 2 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551-0808, USA.
- 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
- 4 Polymath Research Inc., 827 Bonde Court, Pleasanton, California, USA 94566.
- 5 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mail Stop F663, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
- 6 Nevada National Security Site, 232 Energy Way, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030, USA.
- 7 Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA.
- 8 Imperial College London, Plasma Physics, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
- 9 Luxel Corporation, P.O. Box 1879, 60 Saltspring Drive, Friday Harbor, Washington 8250, USA.
- 10 Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623, USA.
- 11 University of California at Berkeley, Department of Nuclear Engineering, 4165 Etcheverry Hall, Berkeley, California 94720-1730, USA.
- 12 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
- 13 Gryphon Technologies, 303 Lindbergh Avenue, Livermore, California 94551, USA.
- 14 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, 100 Stellarator Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA.
- 15 CEA/DAM/DIF, 91297 Arpajon cedex, France.
- 16 National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Defense Programs, United States Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. 20585, USA.
- 17 SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
- 18 University of New Mexico, Department of Nuclear Engineering, MSC01 1120, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-0001, USA.
- 19 University of Michigan, Climate & Space Research Building, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2143, USA.
- 20 Kentech Instruments Ltd., Isis Building, Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BD, United Kingdom.
- 21 Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston RG7 4PR, United Kingdom.
- 22 Department of Physics, Clarendon Lab, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom.
- 23 Spectral Sciences Inc., 4 Fourth Avenue, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803-3304, USA.
- 24 Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, 52066 Aachen, Germany.
- 25 RWTH Aachen University, 52066 Aachen, Germany.
- 26 Optical Sciences Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia.
- 27 United States Naval Research Laboratory, Plasma Physics Division, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20375, USA.
- 28 Washington State University, Office of Research, P.O. Box 641060, Pullman, Washington 99164-1060, USA.
- 29 Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des Lasers Intenses chez École Polytechnique, F-91128 Palaiseau cedex, France.
- 30 University of Nevada at Reno, Department of Physics, MS 0220, 1664. Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
- 31 Université of Paris-Saclay, CEA, LMCE, 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel, France.
- 32 Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
- 33 GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Planckstrasse 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany.
- 34 University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Physics & Astronomy, 475 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547, USA.
- 35 SUNY Geneseo, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Integrated Science Center, Geneseo, New York 14454, USA.
- 36 Focused Energy Inc., 11525-B Stonehollow Drive, Suite 200, Austin Texas 78758, USA.
- 37 Lund University, MAX IV Laboratory, Box 118, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.
- 38 Townes Laser Institute, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA.
- 39 Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford OC11 0QX, United Kingdom.
- 40 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, San Jose State University, San Jose, California 95192, USA.
- 41 Diamond Materials Gmbh, 79108 Freiburg, Germany.
- PMID: 36018710
- DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.075001
Lawson Criterion for Ignition Exceeded in an Inertial Fusion Experiment
Authors
Affiliations
- 1 General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186, USA.
- 2 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551-0808, USA.
- 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
- 4 Polymath Research Inc., 827 Bonde Court, Pleasanton, California, USA 94566.
- 5 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mail Stop F663, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
- 6 Nevada National Security Site, 232 Energy Way, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030, USA.
- 7 Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA.
- 8 Imperial College London, Plasma Physics, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
- 9 Luxel Corporation, P.O. Box 1879, 60 Saltspring Drive, Friday Harbor, Washington 8250, USA.
- 10 Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623, USA.
- 11 University of California at Berkeley, Department of Nuclear Engineering, 4165 Etcheverry Hall, Berkeley, California 94720-1730, USA.
- 12 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
- 13 Gryphon Technologies, 303 Lindbergh Avenue, Livermore, California 94551, USA.
- 14 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, 100 Stellarator Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA.
- 15 CEA/DAM/DIF, 91297 Arpajon cedex, France.
- 16 National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Defense Programs, United States Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. 20585, USA.
- 17 SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
- 18 University of New Mexico, Department of Nuclear Engineering, MSC01 1120, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-0001, USA.
- 19 University of Michigan, Climate & Space Research Building, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2143, USA.
- 20 Kentech Instruments Ltd., Isis Building, Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BD, United Kingdom.
- 21 Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston RG7 4PR, United Kingdom.
- 22 Department of Physics, Clarendon Lab, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom.
- 23 Spectral Sciences Inc., 4 Fourth Avenue, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803-3304, USA.
- 24 Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, 52066 Aachen, Germany.
- 25 RWTH Aachen University, 52066 Aachen, Germany.
- 26 Optical Sciences Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia.
- 27 United States Naval Research Laboratory, Plasma Physics Division, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20375, USA.
- 28 Washington State University, Office of Research, P.O. Box 641060, Pullman, Washington 99164-1060, USA.
- 29 Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des Lasers Intenses chez École Polytechnique, F-91128 Palaiseau cedex, France.
- 30 University of Nevada at Reno, Department of Physics, MS 0220, 1664. Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
- 31 Université of Paris-Saclay, CEA, LMCE, 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel, France.
- 32 Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
- 33 GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Planckstrasse 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany.
- 34 University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Physics & Astronomy, 475 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547, USA.
- 35 SUNY Geneseo, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Integrated Science Center, Geneseo, New York 14454, USA.
- 36 Focused Energy Inc., 11525-B Stonehollow Drive, Suite 200, Austin Texas 78758, USA.
- 37 Lund University, MAX IV Laboratory, Box 118, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.
- 38 Townes Laser Institute, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA.
- 39 Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford OC11 0QX, United Kingdom.
- 40 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, San Jose State University, San Jose, California 95192, USA.
- 41 Diamond Materials Gmbh, 79108 Freiburg, Germany.
- PMID: 36018710
- DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.075001
Abstract
For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion.
