Initial performance results from the upgraded OMEGA laser

The goal of inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) research at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) is to validate high-performance direct-drive fusion capsules as a part of the U.S. strategy toward demonstrating ignition and modest gain in the laboratory. The upgraded OMEGA laser system will be the primary tool for this research and will be used to address five key issues associated with ICF capsule implosions: (i) irradiation uniformity, (ii) energy coupling and transport, (iii) hydrodynamic- stability constraints, (iv) hot-spot physics, and (v) main-fuel-layer physics.