Scaling laws for the ignition of deuterium—tritium shell targets

The ignition conditions of imploding shell targets are studied by means of an analytical model for the stagnation phase. The shell is considered to stagnate isentropically, except in the central region of the fuel, where the energy balance is dominated by thermal conduction and radiation losses, and the heating is dominated by compressional work and alpha-particle deposition of energy. Scaling laws for the maximum temperature of the hot spot and for the ignition conditions are found in terms of the shell implosion velocity ν0, The scaling EBign ∝ ν0−5 for the minimum driver energy required for ignition is found in the velocity range of interest.