Inertial Confinement Fusion as a Tool to Study Fundamental Nuclear Science
Date
2021-04-14
Authors
Kowalewski, Tyler
Yuly, Mark
Padalino, Stephen
Forrest, Chad J.
Sangster, Craig
Regan, Sean
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Houghton College
Abstract
Inertial confinement fusion may be used to make fundamental nuclear science measurements of low energy light ion cross sections also of interest in astrophysics and fusion research. The feasibility of collecting and counting the beta decay of the reaction products (half life 20 ms to 20 s) in the expanding neutral gas after the ICF shot is being studied using a special vacuum system that allows gas to be released, trapped, and counted in situ using different techniques. Initial experiments use a turbopump to trap the gas in the foreline, where it can be counted by a 4 phoswich beta detector. The construction of this detector and tests using 41 Ar gas produced via the 40 Ar(d,p) 41 Ar reaction will be described, as well as an OMEGA laser ride along experiment to measure background rates from milliseconds to seconds after the laser shot. Funded in part by a grant from the DOE through the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, and by SUNY Geneseo and Houghton College.
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National Conference on Undergraduate Research NCUR 2021 @Home, Online
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