Integrated simulations for ion beam assisted fast ignition

Although the energy conversion efficiency from the heating laser to fast electrons is high, the coupling efficiency from fast electrons to the core is estimated to be very low due to large divergence angle of fast electrons in fast ignition experiments at ILE, Osaka University. To mitigate this problem, a plastic thin film or low-density foam, which can generate not only proton (H⁺) but also carbon (C⁶⁺) beams, is combined with currently used cone-guided targets and additional core heating by ions is expected. According to integrated simulations, it is found that these ion beams can enhance the core heating by 20∼60% and it shows a possibility of ion beam assisted fast ignition. (paper)