A feasibility study of using X-ray Thomson Scattering to diagnose the in-flight plasma conditions of DT cryogenic implosions

TL;DR

This study explores the feasibility of using X-ray Thomson scattering to diagnose plasma conditions in in-flight DT cryogenic implosions, aiding validation of models for inertial confinement fusion targets.

Contribution

It demonstrates that synthetic XRTS spectra can resolve plasma temperature, density, and ionization in simulated implosion conditions, supporting experimental diagnostics.

Findings

XRTS can diagnose plasma parameters in simulated implosions

Synthetic spectra match expected plasma conditions

Feasibility confirmed for in-flight plasma diagnostics

Abstract

The design of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) ignition targets requires radiation-hydrodynamics simulations with accurate models of the fundamental material properties (i.e., equation of state, opacity, and conductivity). Validation of these models are required via experimentation. A feasibility study of using spatially-integrated, spectrally-resolved, X-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) measurements to diagnose the temperature, density, and ionization of the compressed DT shell and hot spot of a laser direct-drive implosion at two-thirds convergence was conducted. Synthetic scattering spectra were generated using 1-D implosion simulations from the LILAC code that were post processed with the X-ray Scattering (XRS) model which is incorporated within SPECT3D. Analysis of two extreme adiabat capsule conditions showed that the plasma conditions for both compressed DT shells could be resolved.