Amplification of the velocity of laser implosion of plasma

A new method for amplifying the implosion velocity of D or D-T plasma by means of a laser pulse is presented. It is based on the fact that a thin layer undergoing implosion expands and its density decreases towards the front of the stream of particles driven into the compression region (the centre of the pellet, for instance). If constant laser pressure is maintained, the secondary compression wave leads to a considerable gain in implosion velocity of the particles at the front of the expanding layer. The method is illustrated by discussing, as an example, the plane case. Under definite conditions its application may lead to much higher implosion velocities than in the classical cases. (author)