Fast ignition by quasimonoenergetic ion beams

The potential of quasimonoenergetic ion beams for fast ignition (FI) of fusion targets is investigated. Lithium, carbon, aluminium and vanadium ions have been considered here to determine the optimal kinetic energy for each ion type. Our calculations show that the ignition energies of those beams impinging on a standard fuel configuration are similar. However, they are obtained for very different ion energies. Assuming that the ions can be focused onto 10 m spots, a new irradiation scheme that reduces substantially the ignition energies is proposed. The combination of using intermediate ions, such as 5.5GeV vanadium, and the new irradiation scheme allows one to reduce the number of ions required for ignition by roughly three orders of magnitude when compared with the standard proton FI scheme.