Mechanisms of neutron generation in a laser plasma
Basov N.G. , Boiko V.A. , Zakharov S.M., Krokhin O.N. , Mikhailov Yu.A. , Sklizkov G.V., Fedotov S.I.
The mechanisms whereby neutrons are generated in a plasma are discussed on the basis of the experimental data for different heating regimes. It is established that in the case of sharp focusing of the radiation (10 20 GW power and 2 nsec duration) the bulk of the neutron yield is due to gasdynamic acceleration of the expanding plasma, and is nonthermal in character. In the case of spherical irradiation (power 300 GW, duration 1.5 nsec), the neutrons produced in a dense CD2 plasma (107/pulse) are thermal.