Influence of Low-Mode Violations of Irradiation Homogeneity on Indirect-Drive Thermonuclear Capsule Compression and Burning

Irradiation of a thermonuclear capsule by a laser-induced X-ray pulse (indirect drive) is a way to maximally reduce the inhomogeneity of the capsule heating and, thereby, to minimize the negative influence of hydrodynamic instabilities on its compression. Nevertheless, the application of this method in the world’s largest NIF facility with a laser pulse energy of about 1.8 MJ at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), USA has not yet provided the ignition of indirect-drive thermonuclear capsule – obtaining of the deuterium–tritium reaction energy equal to the spent laser energy. We devote this paper to the theoretical study of compression and burning of thermonuclear capsule with different degrees of violation of its heating uniformity by laser-induced X-ray pulse within the framework of further development of the indirect-drive approach.