Ignition conditions relaxation for central hot-spot ignition with an ion-electron non-equilibrium model

Fusion ignition experiments on the National Ignition Facility have demonstrated >5 keV hot spot with ρRh lower than 0.3 g/cm2 [Döppner et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 055001 (2015)]. We present an ion-electron non-equilibrium model, in which the hot-spot ion temperature is higher than its electron temperature so that the hot-spot nuclear reactions are enhanced while energy leaks are considerably reduced. Theoretical analysis shows that the ignition region would be significantly enlarged in the hot-spot ρR-T space as compared with the commonly used equilibrium model. Simulations show that shocks could be utilized to create and maintain non-equilibrium conditions within the hot spot, and the hot-spot ρR requirement is remarkably reduced for achieving self-heating.