Nuclear physics and diagnostics are playing an increasingly important role at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in navigating the complex path towards ignition.  They also offer an unprecedented opportunity to understand the role of high energy density plasmas in nuclear processes as they exist in astrophysical environments.  Given the extraordinarily brief time scales, high neutron and gamma fluxes, and dynamic nature associated with inertial fusion events, extracting science from NIF requires significant advances both in nuclear instrumentation (neutron detection, radiochemical techniques, etc.) as well as greatly improved nuclear cross sections and other nuclear properties which underpin the analysis of NIF shots.  A collaboration involving UC Berkeley, LLNL and LBNL has undertaken to exploit this unique HED environment for nuclear physics.  As part of this program, we are designing and testing new detectors, and developing new platforms such as the High Flux Neutron Generator (HFNG) at UC Berkeley and a high intensity neutron beamline at the 88� cyclotron at LBNL to support the NIF nuclear physics program.  This talk will particularly focus on the two new neutron sources which together provide a powerful new capability for studying neutron reactions from thermal energies to 50 MeV. This work supported by a grant from the UC Office of the President, and the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at LLNL.

High energy density nuclear physics at UC Berkeley, LLNL, and LBNL

248th National Meeting (2014)

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