Ion heating and thermonuclear neutron production from high-intensity subpicosecond laser pulses interacting with underdense plasmas.
Thermonuclear fusion neutrons produced by D(d,n)3He reactions have been measured from the interaction of a high-intensity laser with underdense deuterium plasmas. For an input laser energy of 62 J, more than (1.0+/-0.2)x10(6) neutrons with a mean kinetic energy of (2.5+/-0.2) MeV were detected. These neutrons were observed to have an isotropic angular emission profile. By comparing these measurements with those using a secondary solid CD2 target it was determined that neutrons are produced from direct ion heating during this interaction.
Fritzler
S
S
Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, UMR 7605, CNRS-CEA, Ecole Polytechnique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 91128, Palaiseau, France.
Najmudin
Z
Z
Malka
V
V
Krushelnick
K
K
Marle
C
C
Walton
B
B
Wei
M S
MS
Clarke
R J
RJ
Dangor
A E
AE