Thermonuclear Fusion with the Sheared Flow Stabilized Z-Pinch

TL;DR

This paper compares two methods for thermonuclear fusion using sheared flow stabilized z-pinch, showing that fast ignition with isentropic compression is more efficient than full-column heating.

Contribution

It introduces a comparison between full-length heating and fast ignition approaches, highlighting the efficiency of sheared flow stabilization in the fast-ignition method.

Findings

Fast ignition with isentropic compression is more efficient.

Sheared flow stabilization enhances fusion efficiency.

Localized hot-spot ignition is feasible.

Abstract

Two basic approaches to producing thermonuclear fusion with a sheared flow stabilized z-pinch are considered. One consists of heating the entire length of the z-pinch column to the required temperatures. The other basic approach considered here involves the concept of fast ignition. A localized "hot-spot" is produced under the proper conditions to ignite a thermonuclear burn wave in the z-pinch plasma. Here we demonstrate that sheared flow stabilization is more efficient in the fast-ignition method with isentropic compression then in a z-pinch where the entire plasma column is heated.