Origin of yield variability between nominally identical ignition shots · revision history

Revision 1

Accepted · first revision · record

Title
Origin of yield variability between nominally identical ignition shots
Plain
Fusion implosions that are meant to be identical produce very different energy yields. The small flaws in the capsule or laser drive responsible for this have not been pinned down quantitatively.
Precise
Attribute the shot-to-shot yield variability of igniting NIF implosions quantitatively among capsule defects and ablator inhomogeneity, fill-tube and support-tent perturbations, low-mode drive asymmetry and ablator-fuel mix. An answer is a model that predicts each shot's yield from pre-shot metrology and laser data to within 30 percent.
Settled by
A blind prediction of yields for a series of new shots using only pre-shot data.
Kind
phenomenon
Answer type
identification
References
(empty)
Literature status
open
Status note
(empty)
Posed since
(empty)