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Updated: May 25, 2026

Emission Spectroscopic Boundary Layer Investigation during Ablative Material Testing in Plasmatron
Published on: June 9, 2016
Impeding hohlraum plasma stagnation in inertial-confinement fusion
C K Li1, F H Séguin, J A Frenje
1Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. ckli@mit.edu
Abstract:
This Letter reports the first time-gated proton radiography of the spatial structure and temporal evolution of how the fill gas compresses the wall blowoff, inhibits plasma jet formation, and impedes plasma stagnation in the hohlraum interior. The potential roles of spontaneously generated electric and magnetic fields in the hohlraum dynamics and capsule implosion are discussed. It is shown that interpenetration of the two materials could result from the classical Rayleigh-Taylor instability occurring as the lighter, decelerating ionized fill gas pushes against the heavier, expanding gold wall blowoff. This experiment showed new observations of the effects of the fill gas on x-ray driven implosions, and an improved understanding of these results could impact the ongoing ignition experiments at the National Ignition Facility.
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