Exploration of Alternative Approaches to Fast Ignition in Laser Fusion

Thermonuclear fusion with inertial confinement of plasma is one of the promising scenarios of power production. In this book, an overview of various fast ignition concepts, with emphasis on the scenarios without the use of ultra-short, ultra-intense laser pulses, is presented. An analysis of several problems related to the realization of such scenarios is also presented. A complex interferometry diagnostics of laser plasma, implemented in two research institutions in Hungary and Republic of Korea, is described. Evaluation of the complex interferometry diagnostic suitability for measurement of spatial density distribution of clusters is presented. Problems related to analysis of the parameters of plasma jets produced from the solid planar targets in the experiments on the Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) facility and to the formation of the high-velocity, high-density objects in these experiments are considered. The book can be useful for experimentalists, engineers, postgraduate students and students working on the problems related to laser plasma.