Exploring the Physics of the Plasma Liner Experiment: A Multi-dimensional Study with FLASH, OSIRIS, and HELIOS

Abstract: The Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a platform that seeks to achieve fusion via a concept known as Plasma-Jet-Driven Magneto-Inertial Fusion (PJMIF). The experiment consists of three main phases: (1) target formation in which up to four plasma guns shoot magnetized hydrogen or deuterium-tritium jets to form a quasi-spherical target, (2) liner formation in which a constellation of 36 guns fire high-atomic number (e.g., xenon) jets to form a liner shell, and (3) target compression in which the formed liner implodes the pre-formed target. Each phase of the PLX probes different plasma regimes with different physics at play, thus we simulated each phase separately and with multiple codes. Here we highlight some of the 1D, 2D, and 3D simulation results of all three phases from the FLASH, OSIRIS, and HELIOS codes. Some of the key physical processes involved include shock dynamics, kinetic effects, anisotropic thermal conduction, resistive magnetic diffusion, radiation transport, and magnetized jet dynamics. Our simulations show that the PLX can form a preheated (~40 eV), magnetized (electron Hall parameter >1) target plasma, and a quasi-collisional liner shell that can subsequently compress the target to fusion-relevant conditions (e.g., temperatures >1 keV).