1. Deuterium-deuterium fusion dynamics in low-density molecular-cluster jets irradiated by intense ultrafast laser pulses
- Author
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G. Grillon, M. Schmidt, Jean-Paul Chambaret, Stéphane Sebban, Ph. Balcou, J.-Ph. Rousseau, Daniele Hulin, S. Moustaizis, Th. Pussieux, L. Notebaert, Antoine Rousse, J. Martino, O. Sublemontier, M. Pittman, Laboratoire d'optique appliquée (LOA), École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées (ENSTA Paris)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Saclay, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Material Structure and Laser Physics Laboratory, Technical University of Crete [Chania], and Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser
- Subjects
Nuclear reaction ,Physics ,[PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-OPTICS]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Optics [physics.optics] ,Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,Coulomb explosion ,General Physics and Astronomy ,Plasma ,Laser ,7. Clean energy ,01 natural sciences ,010305 fluids & plasmas ,Ion ,law.invention ,Deuterium ,Physics::Plasma Physics ,13. Climate action ,law ,0103 physical sciences ,Nuclear fusion ,Neutron ,PACS 52.50.Jm ,36.40.Gk ,52.38.Ph ,Atomic physics ,Nuclear Experiment ,010306 general physics - Abstract
International audience; Following the interaction of superintense, short pulse lasers and plasmas, ions can be accelerated to velocities sufficient to drive nuclear fusion reactions, in particular, by the process of Coulomb explosion of clusters [T. Ditmire et al., Nature (London) 398, 491 (1999)]. We show here how short bursts of neutrons can be produced using a jet of low-density deuterated methane clusters. Ion velocity distributions were simultaneously measured by a Thomson parabola mass spectrometer, demonstrating deuteron energies up to 120 keV. We show that, in such conditions, nuclear fusion will occur not only in the hot plasma core, but also in the cold outer region by collision processes.
- Published
- 2001
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