# Synopsis: Pushing toward better nuclear data

Dense plasmas created by lasers used for inertial confinement fusion research have been used to extract precise basic nuclear physics data.

Researchers probe many important nuclear reactions using collisions produced with accelerators. Gleaning good data on some fundamental reactions can be problematic, however. For example, low-energy cross sections often need to be extrapolated from high-energy measurements. In those and other cases, nuclear physics research benefits from an enlarged toolkit for measurement of basic cross-section data.

Writing in Physical Review Letters, Johan Frenje at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and colleagues report their use of data obtained in laser-driven inertial confinement fusion experiments to extract precise cross sections for important light-ion interactions in which neutrons scatter off deuterons ($2$H) and tritons ($3$H).

The research team created high-density plasmas by using the OMEGA laser system to implode glass capsules filled with deuterium and tritium. Sixty powerful laser beams strike the outer surface of the capsule, generating a plasma that then pushes it inward to compress the gas. As the gas reaches thermonuclear conditions, reactions create $14.1\phantom{\rule{0.333em}{0ex}}\text{MeV}$ neutrons that collide with the hydrogen isotopes, and scattering cross sections are extracted from the energy spectra of these species. The results match ab initio calculations well, providing not only a boost to theory but also data on reactions of crucial importance to nuclear astrophysics and fusion energy research. – David Voss

### Announcements

More Announcements »

## Previous Synopsis

Atomic and Molecular Physics

## Next Synopsis

Particles and Fields

## Related Articles

Astrophysics

### Synopsis: Solar Cycle Affects Cosmic Ray Positrons

Discrepancies in the positron content of cosmic rays measured at different times are explained by the periodic reversal of the solar magnetic field’s direction. Read More »

Nuclear Physics

### Synopsis: Neutron Capture Constraints

Experiments place tighter bounds on neutron capture rates that play an important role in the production of heavy elements in the Universe. Read More »

Astrophysics

### Focus: LIGO Bags Another Black Hole Merger

LIGO has detected a second burst of gravitational waves from merging black holes, suggesting that such detections will soon become routine and part of a new kind of astronomy. Read More »