Non-thermal laser driven plasma-blocks for proton boron avalanche fusion as direct drive option

Fusion energy from protons reacting with ^(11) B,HB11,is extremely difficult or impossible when using thermal ignition by laser irradiation.This changes radically when using picosecond laser pulses with powers above petawatts dominated by nonlinear force driven ultrahigh ac-celeration of plasma blocks for a non-thermal initiation of igniting solid density HB11 fuel.For a cylindrical trapping of the reaction,laser produced ultrahigh magnetic fields above kiloTesla,have to be combined.The experimentally confirmed highly increased HB11 fusion gains due to avalanche reaction may lead to a scheme of an environmentally clean and economic power reactor.

Experimental Realization of an Extreme-Parameter Omnidirectional Cloak

An ideal transformation-based omnidirectional cloak always relies on metamaterials with extreme parameters,which were previously thought to be too difcult to realize.For such a reason,in previous experimental proposals of invisibility cloaks,the extreme parameters requirements are usually abandoned,leading to inherent scattering.Here,we report on the frst experimental demonstration of an omnidirectional cloak that satisfes the extreme parameters requirement,which can hide objects in a homogenous background.Instead of using resonant metamaterials that usually involve unavoidable absorptive loss,the extreme parameters are achieved using a nonresonant metamaterial comprising arrays of subwavelength metallic channels manufactured with 3D metal printing technology.A high level transmission of electromagnetic wave propagating through the present omnidirectional cloak,as well as signifcant reduction of scattering feld,is demonstrated both numerically and experimentally.Our work may also inspire experimental realizations of the other full-parameter omnidirectional optical devices such as concentrator,rotators,and optical illusion apparatuses.

New scheme to trigger fusion in a compact magnetic fusion device by combining muon catalysis and alpha heating effects

The application of laser pulses with psec or shorter duration enables nonthermal efficient ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks with homogeneous high ion energies exceeding ion current densities of 10^(12) A cm^(-2). The effects of ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks with high energy proton beams are proposed for muon production in a compact magnetic fusion device. The proposed new scheme consists of an ignition fusion spark by muon catalyzed fusion(μCF) in a small mirror-like configuration where low temperature D–T plasma is trapped for a duration of 1 μs. This initial fusion spark produces sufficient alpha heating in order to initiate the fusion process in the main device. The use of a multi-fluid global particle and energy balance code allows us to follow the temporal evolution of the reaction rate of the fusion process in the device. Recent progress on the ICAN and IZEST projects for high efficient high power and high repetition rate laser systems allows development of the proposed device for clean energy production. With the proposed approaches,experiments on fusion nuclear reactions and μCF process can be performed in magnetized plasmas in existing kJ/PW laser facilities as the GEKKO-LFEX, the PETAL and the ORION or in the near future laser facilities as the ELI-NP Romanian pillar.