There is a new technique to measure the "topping power" of nuclear particles using high repetition-rate ultra intense lasers. It's important to understand the stopping power of the protons.
Taking care of the sun and stars.
This process is different from the creation of fusion atPPPL, which uses magnetic confinement facilities to create fusion. The fusion that powers the sun and stars is possible because of the hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei.
"topping power" is a force that happens when charged particles collide with electrons. Malko, lead author of a paper that outlines the findings in Nature Communications, said that if you don't know the stopping power of the protons, you can't calculate the amount of energy deposited in the Plasma. She said that theoretical descriptions of the stopping power in high-energy density matter are difficult. The paper compares experimental data with theoretical models of stopping power.
Nature Communications used low-energy ion beams and lasers to investigate the stopping power of protons. The low-energy ion was created by using a special device that selects the low-energy fixed energy system from a broad spectrum of protons. The energy loss is measured after the beam passes through the dense matter. The closest match was not in agreement with classical models.
Malko said that the closest agreement came from simulations based on a quantum mechanical approach.
The stops are measured precisely.
It is possible to understand how protons produce fast ignition, an advanced scheme of insturment fusion. The material state and the stopping power of the protons are tightly coupled.
She explained that the stopping power is dependent on the density and temperature of the material. She said that uncertainties in the stopping power lead to uncertainties in the total energy needed.
Malko and her team are performing new experiments at the DOE LaserNetUS facilities at Colorado State University to extend their measurement to the Bragg peak region, where the maximum energy loss occurs and where theoretical predictions are most uncertain.
Researchers from the U.S., Spain, France, Germany, Canada and Italy contributed to the paper.
More information: S. Malko et al, Proton stopping measurements at low velocity in warm dense carbon, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30472-8 Journal information: Nature Communications
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