Plasma Barodiffusion in Inertial-Confinement-Fusion Implosions: Application to Observed Yield Anomalies in Thermonuclear Fuel Mixtures

The observation of large, self-generated electric fields (≥109 V/m) in imploding capsules using proton radiography has been reported [C. K. Li et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 225001 (2008)]. A model of pressure gradient-driven diffusion in a plasma with self-generated electric fields is developed and applied to reported neutron yield deficits for equimolar D3He[J. R. Rygg et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 052702 (2006)] and (DT)3He[H. W. Herrmann et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 056312 (2009)] fuel mixtures and Ar-doped deuterium fuels [J. D. Lindl et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 339 (2004)]. The observed anomalies are explained as a mild loss of deuterium nuclei near capsule center arising from shock-driven diffusion in the high-field limit.