Plastic ablator and hydrodynamic instabilities: a first-principles set of microscopic coefficients

Area of Science:

• Plasma Physics
• Materials Science under extreme conditions
• Computational Physics

Background:

• Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) relies on imploding capsules, where hydrodynamic instabilities like Rayleigh-Taylor can disrupt the process.
• Understanding material properties under ICF conditions is crucial for predicting and mitigating these instabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compute microscopic coefficients for plastic ablator materials under ICF-relevant thermodynamic conditions.
• To investigate phenomena that can mitigate the growth of classical Rayleigh-Taylor instability.
• To compare simulation results with existing models used in hydrodynamics codes.

Main Methods:

• Performed orbital-free and quantum molecular dynamics simulations.
• Simulated plastic ablator along two isochores (7 and 9 g cm⁻³).
• Covered a thermodynamic range from 5 to 40 eV.

Main Results:

• Computed equation-of-state, ionic diffusion coefficients, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity.
• The calculated coefficients span phenomena relevant to instability mitigation.
• Established a comprehensive dataset of microscopic properties for plastic ablators.

Conclusions:

• The study provides essential microscopic data for plastic ablators under ICF conditions.
• Findings can inform the development of more accurate hydrodynamic models for fusion applications.
• The computed properties offer a basis for understanding and potentially controlling hydrodynamic instabilities.