Enhancement to Fusion Reactivity in Sheared Flows

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that sheared flows significantly enhance fusion reactivity in plasma, especially relevant for inertial confinement fusion and fast ignition, leading to potential energy savings and improved ignition conditions.

Contribution

It introduces the concept that flow shear can double fusion reactivity in unmagnetized plasma and discusses its implications for ICF and fast ignition.

Findings

Fusion reactivity can be more than doubled with flow shear.

Sheared flows enable earlier contribution of implosion energy to fusion.

Colder fuel stops alpha particles more quickly, aiding ignition.

Abstract

Sheared flow increases the reactivity of fusion plasma. In unmagnetized plasma with flow gradients comparable to the mean free path of reacting ions, fusion reactivity can be more than doubled. The effect is of particular relevance to inertial confinement fusion (ICF), where it allows implosion kinetic energy to contribute to the fusion burn even before thermalizing. In fast ignition, this allows remarkable energy savings because colder fuel stops alpha particles more quickly, enabling ignition in a smaller hot spot.