AUTHOR=Cui Ye , Ke Yan-Zhao , Yang Xiao-Hu , Ma Yan-Yun , Shao Fu-Qiu 

TITLE=Compact neutron source from head-on collision of high energy density plasma jets

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physics

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physics/articles/10.3389/fphy.2022.1026496

DOI=10.3389/fphy.2022.1026496

ISSN=2296-424X

ABSTRACT=We propose a new scheme to generate neutron source with short duration, and the scheme is validated in two-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulations. When a laser beam irradiates deuterated polystyrene cone with a half opening angle of 60°, high energy density plasma jets are produced due to the converging effect. As two laser-driven counter-propagating jets collide in a head-on configuration, the kinetic energy converts into internal energy efficiently, inducing a significant increase of density and temperature. Then deuteron-deuteron thermonuclear reactions are triggered and plenty of neutrons are released. The simulation results show that the total neutron yield is as high as 6.6×10^8  with a duration of 103 ps, providing a new way to achieve ultrafast diagnosis with high resolution in experiments.