The development of fluid codes for the laser compression of plasma

This paper covers the basic approach to the modelling and theoretical interpretation of experiments on the compression of matter by high power lasers. Although the physics of such a process is in its own right a proper area of investigation, the basic motivation for the research effort in this field is the possibility of obtaining controlled thermonuclear fusion through the compression of laser-heated targets. This offers a viable alternative route to controlled fusion, based on inertial confinement rather than magnetic containment. Broadly speaking, four main processes, or areas of physics, may be identified in a typical interaction: the absorption of the laser energy in the low density plasma atmosphere surrounding the pellet, the transport of this energy to the spherically converging compression front, the compression itself and the thermonuclear burn. The author briefly reviews the first three of these processes in turn, outlining the basic physics involved