Recent advances in indirect drive ICF target physics at CEA

The objective of Target Physics Program at CEA is the achievement of ignition on the LMJ, a glass laser facility of 1.8 MJ which will be completed by 2008. It is composed of theoretical work, experimental work and numerical simulations. An important part of experimental studies is made in collaboration with U.S. DOE Laboratories: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester. Experiments were performed on Phebus, NOVA (LLNL) and OMEGA (LLE) ; they included diagnostics developments. Recent efforts have been focused on Laser Plasma Interaction, hohlraum energetics, symmetry, ablator physics and hydrodynamic instabilities. Ongoing work prepare the first experiments on the LIL which is a prototype facility of the LMJ (8 of its 240 beams). They will be performed by 2002. Recent progress in ICF target physics allows us to precise laser specifications to achieve ignition with reasonable margin. (author)