Imaging ablator-fuel mix of hot spot in inertial confinement fusion via resonant X-ray absorption using an X-ray free electron laser
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: A novel diagnostic is proposed for active probing of doped inertial confinement fusion (ICF) spherical shells, enabling direct measurements of mix and burn dynamics at next-generation implosion facilities via resonant absorption imaging with an X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL). The charge-state-sensitive imaging of embedded dopants provides spatiotemporally resolved constraints on ionization, opacity, and material mix seeded by hydrodynamic instabilities in stagnated plasmas. Proof-of-principle experiments demonstrating resonant XFEL probing of hot spot in coated copper wires driven by an ultra-short relativistic laser pulse, have established the feasibility of this approach. Furthermore, atomic and radiation-hydrodynamic simulations, combined with synthetic resonant X-ray absorption imaging, extend the diagnostic concept to laser-driven direct-drive ICF shells with copper-doped ablators and radiation-driven indirect-drive shells with tungsten-doped ablators. This unique approach, combining a laser-driven implosion facility with a high-brightness XFEL, could enable precise measurements of fusion-relevant hot dense plasmas at multi-keV temperatures, provide stringent benchmarks for radiation-hydrodynamics models, and advance the realization of inertial fusion energy.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Huang, Lingen, Yang, Long, Garcia, Alejandro Laso, Humphries, Oliver S., Šmíd, Michal, Mishchenko, Mikhail, Bouffetier, Victorien, Baehtz, Carsten, Brambrink, Erik, Cafiso, Samuele D. Di Dio, Pérez-Callejo, Gabriel, Cui, Yangzhe, Engler, Thea, Feng, Wen, Göde, Sebastian, Grenzer, Joerg, Gutt, Christian, Hagemann, Johannes, Herbert, Marie-Luise, Hirsch-Passicos, Arthur, Höppner, Hauke, Kluge, Thomas, Kraus, Dominik, Lütgert, Julian, Masruri, Masruri, Nakatsutsumi, Motoaki, Öztürk, Özgül, Ordyna, Paweł, Pan, Xiayun, Paschke-Bruehl, Franziska, Pelka, Alexander, Preston, Thomas R., Qu, Chongbing, Rahul, S. V., Randolph, Lisa, Rehwald, Martin, Schlenvoigt, Hans-Peter, Schumacher, Samuel, Schramm, Ulrich, Schwinkendorf, Jan-Patrick, Shoulga, Georgiy, Toncian, Monika, Vorberger, Jan, Zeil, Karl, Zastrau, Ulf, Toncian, Toma, Cowan, Thomas E.
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Award: G8920660035
OpenAlex ID: W7221128264