An ignition criterion for inertial fusion boosted by microturbulence

Henry Fetsch; Nathaniel J. Fisch

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arXiv · 2507.18917

An ignition criterion for inertial fusion boosted by microturbulence

Henry Fetsch·Nathaniel J. Fisch

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Abstract

Turbulence enhances fusion reactivity, enabling ignition at lower temperature. A modified Lawson-like ignition criterion is derived for inertially confined plasmas harboring turbulent kinetic energy. Remarkably, if small-scale turbulence is driven in the hot spot while avoiding mixing at the boundary, less energy is required to ignite a target. The optimal length scale for hot-spot turbulence is quantified, typically lying in the micron range.

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Henry Fetsch, Nathaniel J. Fisch. 2025-07-25. An ignition criterion for inertial fusion boosted by microturbulence. https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.18917

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