Enhancing neutron yield with cryogenic D2 layer in magnetized implosions driven by intense ion beams

In this paper, we introduce the “cold pusher” implosion configuration in which the target has an Au liner incorporating a cryogenic layer to compress the low-density D2 gas for mitigating the compression challenge. This cylinder-magnetized implosion scheme incorporates an initial axial magnetic field of 30 T, and a one-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics code, DELIRA, is applied to predict the implosion details. The simulation employed 2×1012Xe+54 ions at 1.1 GeV/u, with a pulse duration of 100 ns. Simulation results demonstrate that the optimum value of 0.28 μm cryogenic layer can enhance neutron yield by a factor of ∼4.98 with lowering the radial convergence value, Cr. Meanwhile, the cryogenic layer increases the ion temperature and magnetic flux conservation, where an increased maximum axial magnetic field and reduced magnetic flux loss could result in the reduction of heat loss. Simulations suggest how neutron yield scales with irradiation intensity ε. This work demonstrates that enhanced neutron yield can be obtained through applying a cryogenic layer to the target configuration, which is important for HIF development.