Very recent record breaking 1.3-megajoule (MJ) energy-yield experiment at DOE’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) has brought practical realization of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) ignition within a reach. The ablator capsule converts the energy of high-power lasers into ablation pressure, which compresses and ignites the fusion fuel. To step up the energy yield, new alternatives to diamond ablator materials are urgently sought. This project will study the dynamic shock response of novel amorphous carbon ablator material in quantum-accurate billion atom molecular dynamics simulations at experimental time and length scales.

The extreme-scale MD simulations will deliver key information on physical properties of amorphous carbon including phase diagram, shock Hugoniot and the equation of state, the critical elements for the design of successful ICF ignition. They will also guide experiments at NIF and Omega EP laser facility at DOE’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester