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Fusion fuel gains greater than unity — which are crucial to the generation of fusion energy — are achieved on the US National Ignition Facility using the ‘high-foot’ implosion method, which reduces instability in the implosion of the fuel. Fusion shows a return Efforts to develop fusion as a viable alternative energy source continue but progress has been slow. In the context of inertial confinement fusion, in which a fuel target is compressed and heated to initiate nuclear fusion, a key experimental goal is to reach a stage where the amount of energy deposited into the fuel during the compression/heating process is exceeded by the amount of energy generated by the induced fusion reactions. This threshold — the attainment of a 'fuel gain' that is greater than one — has now been reached at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California. They used 192 laser beams to heat and compress a fuel pellet to the point at which nuclear fusion reactions take place and obtained a yield 10 times greater than previously achieved. Further advances will be required, however, before the fusion energy yield exceeds the total energy required to compress the fuel pellet. Ignition is needed to make fusion energy a viable alternative energy source, but has yet to be achieved 1 . A key step on the way to ignition is to have the energy generated through fusion reactions in an inertially confined fusion plasma exceed the amount of energy deposited into the deuterium–tritium fusion fuel and hotspot during the implosion process, resulting in a fuel gain greater than unity. Here we report the achievement of fusion fuel gains exceeding unity on the US National Ignition Facility using a ‘high-foot’ implosion method 2 , 3 , which is a manipulation of the laser pulse shape in a way that reduces instability in the implosion. These experiments show an order-of-magnitude improvement in yield performance over past deuterium–tritium implosion experiments. We also see a significant contribution to the yield from α-particle self-heating and evidence for the ‘bootstrapping’ required to accelerate the deuterium–tritium fusion burn to eventually ‘run away’ and ignite.

Combined with the image explosion source method and LAMBR (LAMB revisied) model, a fast calculation method of wall load of implosion in cylindrical vessels with single explosion source was proposed. The verification results show that the maximum relative errors of the predicted and simulated values of overpressure peak and specific impulse on the structural wall are −13.66% and −17.84% respectively. The predicted overpressure and specific impulse time curves are in good agreement with that obtained by simulation, which can reflect the multimodality of the load at the measuring point under the action of implosion and verify the effectiveness of the method.

Focusing laser light onto a very small target can produce the conditions for laboratory-scale nuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes. The lack of accurate predictive models, which are essential for the design of high-performance laser-fusion experiments, is a major obstacle to achieving thermonuclear ignition. Here we report a statistical approach that was used to design and quantitatively predict the results of implosions of solid deuterium–tritium targets carried out with the 30-kilojoule OMEGA laser system, leading to tripling of the fusion yield to its highest value so far for direct-drive laser fusion. When scaled to the laser energies of the National Ignition Facility (1.9 megajoules), these targets are predicted to produce a fusion energy output of about 500 kilojoules—several times larger than the fusion yields currently achieved at that facility. This approach could guide the exploration of the vast parameter space of thermonuclear ignition conditions and enhance our understanding of laser-fusion physics. A statistical approach to designing and predicting the fusion yield of cryogenic deuterium–tritium implosions leads to tripled yield in direct-drive laser fusion of deuterium–tritium layered targets.

Obtaining a burning plasma is a critical step towards self-sustaining fusion energy 1 . A burning plasma is one in which the fusion reactions themselves are the primary source of heating in the plasma, which is necessary to sustain and propagate the burn, enabling high energy gain. After decades of fusion research, here we achieve a burning-plasma state in the laboratory. These experiments were conducted at the US National Ignition Facility, a laser facility delivering up to 1.9 megajoules of energy in pulses with peak powers up to 500 terawatts. We use the lasers to generate X-rays in a radiation cavity to indirectly drive a fuel-containing capsule via the X-ray ablation pressure, which results in the implosion process compressing and heating the fuel via mechanical work. The burning-plasma state was created using a strategy to increase the spatial scale of the capsule 2 , 3 through two different implosion concepts 4 – 7 . These experiments show fusion self-heating in excess of the mechanical work injected into the implosions, satisfying several burning-plasma metrics 3 , 8 . Additionally, we describe a subset of experiments that appear to have crossed the static self-heating boundary, where fusion heating surpasses the energy losses from radiation and conduction. These results provide an opportunity to study α-particle-dominated plasmas and burning-plasma physics in the laboratory. A burning plasma, a critical step towards self-sustaining fusion, is achieved at the US National Ignition Facility, with a subset of experiments demonstrating fusion self-heating beyond radiation and conduction losses.

The standard median filter based on a symmetric moving window has only one tuning parameter: the window width. Despite this limitation, this filter has proven extremely useful and has motivated a number of extensions: weighted median filters, recursive median filters, and various cascade structures. The Hampel filter is a member of the class of decsion filters that replaces the central value in the data window with the median if it lies far enough from the median to be deemed an outlier. This filter depends on both the window width and an additional tuning parameter t , reducing to the median filter when t =0, so it may be regarded as another median filter extension. This paper adopts this view, defining and exploring the class of generalized Hampel filters obtained by applying the median filter extensions listed above: weighted Hampel filters, recursive Hampel filters, and their cascades. An important concept introduced here is that of an implosion sequence , a signal for which generalized Hampel filter performance is independent of the threshold parameter t . These sequences are important because the added flexibility of the generalized Hampel filters offers no practical advantage for implosion sequences. Partial characterization results are presented for these sequences, as are useful relationships between root sequences for generalized Hampel filters and their median-based counterparts. To illustrate the performance of this filter class, two examples are considered: one is simulation-based, providing a basis for quantitative evaluation of signal recovery performance as a function of t , while the other is a sequence of monthly Italian industrial production index values that exhibits glaring outliers.

In a burning plasma state 1 – 7 , alpha particles from deuterium–tritium fusion reactions redeposit their energy and are the dominant source of heating. This state has recently been achieved at the US National Ignition Facility 8 using indirect-drive inertial-confinement fusion. Our experiments use a laser-generated radiation-filled cavity (a hohlraum) to spherically implode capsules containing deuterium and tritium fuel in a central hot spot where the fusion reactions occur. We have developed more efficient hohlraums to implode larger fusion targets compared with previous experiments 9 , 10 . This delivered more energy to the hot spot, whereas other parameters were optimized to maintain the high pressures required for inertial-confinement fusion. We also report improvements in implosion symmetry control by moving energy between the laser beams 11 – 16 and designing advanced hohlraum geometry 17 that allows for these larger implosions to be driven at the present laser energy and power capability of the National Ignition Facility. These design changes resulted in fusion powers of 1.5 petawatts, greater than the input power of the laser, and 170 kJ of fusion energy 18 , 19 . Radiation hydrodynamics simulations 20 , 21 show energy deposition by alpha particles as the dominant term in the hot-spot energy balance, indicative of a burning plasma state. In burning plasma, alpha particles from fusion reactions are the dominant source of heating. The design choices that resulted in reaching this state in experiments at the National Ignition Facility are reported.

Inertial fusion energy （IFE） has been considered a promising, nearly inexhaustible source of sustainable carbon-free power for the world＇s energy future. It has long been recognized that the control of hydrodynamic instabilities is of critical importance for ignition and high-gain in the inertial-confinement fusion （ICF） hot-spot ignition scheme. In this mini-review, we summarize the progress of theoretical and simulation research of hydrodynamic instabilities in the ICF central hot-spot implosion in our group over the past decade. In order to obtain sufficient understanding of the growth of hydrodynamic instabilities in ICF, we first decompose the problem into different stages according to the implosion physics processes. The decomposed essential physics pro- cesses that are associated with ICF implosions, such as Rayleigh-Taylor instability （RTI）, Richtmyer-Meshkov instability （RMI）, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability （KHI）, convergent geometry effects, as well as perturbation feed-through are reviewed. Analyti- cal models in planar, cylindrical, and spherical geometries have been established to study different physical aspects, including density-gradient, interface-coupling, geometry, and convergent effects. The influence of ablation in the presence of preheating on the RTI has been extensively studied by numerical simulations. The KHI considering the ablation effect has been discussed in detail for the first time. A series of single-mode ablative RTI experiments has been performed on the Shenguang-II laser facility. The theoretical and simulation research provides us the physical insights of linear and weakly nonlinear growths, and nonlinear evolutions of the hydrodynamic instabilities in ICF implosions, which has directly supported the research of ICF ignition target design. The ICF hot-spot ignition implosion design that uses several controlling features, based on our current understanding of hydrodynamic instabilities, to address shell implosion stability, has been briefly described, several of which are novel.

Drought-induced forest dieback has been widely reported over the last decades, and the evidence for a direct causal link between survival and hydraulic failure (xylem cavitation) is now well known. Because vulnerability to cavitation is intimately linked to the anatomy of the xylem, the main objective of this study was to better understand the xylem anatomical properties associated with cavitation resistance. An extensive data set of cavitation resistance traits and xylem anatomical properties was developed for 115 conifer species, with special attention given to the micro-morphology of bordered pits. The ratio of torus to pit aperture diameter, so-called torus overlap, increased with increasing cavitation resistance, while the flexibility of the margo does not seem to play a role, suggesting that air-seeding is located at the seal between the aspirated torus and pit aperture. Moreover, punctured tori were reported in various Pinaceae species. Species resistant to cavitation had thicker tracheid walls, while their lumen diameter (conduit size) was only slightly reduced, minimizing the impact on hydraulic conductance. The results also demonstrated (i) the existence of an indirect trade-off between hydraulic safety and mechanical strength; and (ii) a consistency between species distribution and xylem anatomy: species with a wide torus overlap and high valve effects are found in arid environments such as the Mediterranean region.

The Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability occurs at an interface between two fluids of differing density during an acceleration. These instabilities can occur in very diverse settings, from inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions over spatial scales of ~10−3−10−1 cm (10–1,000 μm) to supernova explosions at spatial scales of ~1012 cm and larger. We describe experiments and techniques for reducing (“stabilizing”) RT growth in high-energy density (HED) settings on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Three unique regimes of stabilization are described: (i) at an ablation front, (ii) behind a radiative shock, and (iii) due to material strength. For comparison, we also show results from nonstabilized “classical” RT instability evolution in HED regimes on the NIF. Examples from experiments on the NIF in each regime are given. These phenomena also occur in several astrophysical scenarios and planetary science [Drake R (2005) Plasma Phys Controlled Fusion 47:B419–B440; Dahl TW, Stevenson DJ (2010) Earth Planet Sci Lett 295:177–186].

Lignin is a heterogeneous aromatic polymer responsible for cell wall stiffness and protection from pathogen attack. However, lignin represents a bottleneck to biomass degradation due to its recalcitrance related to the natural cell wall resistance to release sugars for fermentation or further processing. A biological approach involving genetics and molecular biology was used to disrupt lignin pathway synthesis and decrease lignin deposition. Here, we imaged three-dimensional fragments of the petioles of wild type and C4H lignin mutant Arabidopsis thaliana plants by synchrotron cryo-ptychography. The three-dimensional images revealed the heterogeneity of vessels, parenchyma, and fibre cell wall morphologies, highlighting the relation between disturbed lignin deposition and vessel implosion (cell collapsing and obstruction of water flow). We introduce a new parameter to accurately define cell implosion conditions in plants, and we demonstrate how cryo-ptychographic X-ray computed tomography (cryo-PXCT) provides new insights for plant imaging in three dimensions to understand physiological processes.