Achievement of Target Gain Larger than Unity 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 Ct., Pleasanton, California 94566, USA.
- 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 Dr., Friday Harbor, Washington 98250, USA.
- 10 Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623, USA.
- 11 University of California at Berkeley, Dept. 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 Ave., 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, DC 20585, USA.
- 17 SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
- 18 University of New Mexico, Dept. 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 Diamond Materials Gmbh, 79108 Freiburg, Germany.
- 22 Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, RG7 4PR, United Kingdom.
- 23 Department of Physics, Clarendon Lab, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, United Kingodm.
- 24 Spectral Sciences Inc., 4 Fourth Ave, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803-3304, USA.
- 25 RWTH Aachen University, 52066 Aachen, Germany.
- 26 University of Michigan, 500 S State St, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
- 27 United States Naval Research Laboratory, Plasma Physics Division, 4555 Overlook Ave SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA.
- 28 Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des Lasers Intenses chez École Polytechnique, F-91128 Palaiseau cedex, France.
- 29 University of Nevada at Reno, Dept. of Physics, MS 0220, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
- 30 Université of Paris-Saclay, CEA, LMCE, 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel, France.
- 31 Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
- 32 University of California at Los Angeles, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, 475 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547, USA.
- 33 Sutter Instrument, 1 Digital Dr., Novator, California 94949, USA.
- 34 SUNY Geneseo, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, Integrated Science Center, Geneseo, New York 14454, USA.
- 35 Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, OC11 0QX, United Kingdom.
- 36 Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, San José State University, San José, California 95192, USA.
- 37 Department of Physics and Astronomy, San José State University, San José California 95192-0106, USA.
- PMID: 38394591
- DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.065102
Achievement of Target Gain Larger than Unity 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 Ct., Pleasanton, California 94566, USA.
- 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 Dr., Friday Harbor, Washington 98250, USA.
- 10 Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623, USA.
- 11 University of California at Berkeley, Dept. 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 Ave., 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, DC 20585, USA.
- 17 SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
- 18 University of New Mexico, Dept. 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 Diamond Materials Gmbh, 79108 Freiburg, Germany.
- 22 Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, RG7 4PR, United Kingdom.
- 23 Department of Physics, Clarendon Lab, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, United Kingodm.
- 24 Spectral Sciences Inc., 4 Fourth Ave, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803-3304, USA.
- 25 RWTH Aachen University, 52066 Aachen, Germany.
- 26 University of Michigan, 500 S State St, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
- 27 United States Naval Research Laboratory, Plasma Physics Division, 4555 Overlook Ave SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA.
- 28 Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des Lasers Intenses chez École Polytechnique, F-91128 Palaiseau cedex, France.
- 29 University of Nevada at Reno, Dept. of Physics, MS 0220, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
- 30 Université of Paris-Saclay, CEA, LMCE, 91680 Bruyères-le-Châtel, France.
- 31 Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
- 32 University of California at Los Angeles, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, 475 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547, USA.
- 33 Sutter Instrument, 1 Digital Dr., Novator, California 94949, USA.
- 34 SUNY Geneseo, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, Integrated Science Center, Geneseo, New York 14454, USA.
- 35 Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, OC11 0QX, United Kingdom.
- 36 Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, San José State University, San José, California 95192, USA.
- 37 Department of Physics and Astronomy, San José State University, San José California 95192-0106, USA.
- PMID: 38394591
- DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.065102
Abstract
On December 5, 2022, an indirect drive fusion implosion on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved a target gain G_{target} of 1.5. This is the first laboratory demonstration of exceeding "scientific breakeven" (or G_{target}>1) where 2.05 MJ of 351 nm laser light produced 3.1 MJ of total fusion yield, a result which significantly exceeds the Lawson criterion for fusion ignition as reported in a previous NIF implosion [H. Abu-Shawareb et al. (Indirect Drive ICF Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 075001 (2022)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.129.075001]. This achievement is the culmination of more than five decades of research and gives proof that laboratory fusion, based on fundamental physics principles, is possible. This Letter reports on the target, laser, design, and experimental advancements that led to this result.