First demonstration of improved capsule implosions by reducing radiation preheat in uranium vs gold hohlraums

In indirectly-driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) implosions, supra-thermal M-band (>2 keV) radiation from principally 4–3 resonance line transitions generated during laser irradiation at the peak power of Au hohlraum walls can preheat the fusion capsule and reduce compressional pressure. Higher Z, un-lined depleted uranium (DU) hohlraums were used for the first time in ICF implosions on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to reduce M-band radiation levels while keeping the total radiation flux similar to Au hohlraums. First implosions in DU demonstrate an increase in in-flight density (+15%) of high density carbon capsules, and hence in stagnated hot spot temperature (+15%), hot spot x-ray (+200%) and fusion neutron yields (+100%) compared to Au hohlraums. We show analytically that these changes are consistent with the observed 40% reduction in M-band x-ray flux in DU, and are in agreement with 2D hydrodynamic simulations. This result had a major impact on ICF research on the NIF where a significan...