Solid Cherenkov detector for studying nucleosynthesis in inertial confinement fusion

Measuring gamma rays emitted from nuclear reactions gives insight into their nuclear structure. Notably, there are several nuclear reactions that produce gamma rays at ∼1 MeV–3 MeV energies such as T(4He, γ)7Li, 4He(3He, γ)7Be, and 12C(p, γ)13N, which may solve questions lingering about big-bang nuc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of scientific instruments 2020-07, Vol.91 (7), p.073503-073503
Main Authors: Springstead, M. P., Zylstra, A. B., Kim, Y., Meaney, K. D., Geppert-Kleinrath, H., Leatherland, A., Wilson, L., Herrmann, H. W., Young, C. S., Polk, P., Hamilton, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerogels
Big bang cosmology
Cerenkov counters
Deuterium
Fused silica
Gamma rays
Implosions
Inertial confinement fusion
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear reactions
Nuclear structure
Nuclei (nuclear physics)
Scientific apparatus & instruments
Sensors
Silicon dioxide
Tritium
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Summary:Measuring gamma rays emitted from nuclear reactions gives insight into their nuclear structure. Notably, there are several nuclear reactions that produce gamma rays at ∼1 MeV–3 MeV energies such as T(4He, γ)7Li, 4He(3He, γ)7Be, and 12C(p, γ)13N, which may solve questions lingering about big-bang nucleosynthesis and stellar nucleosynthesis. To observe 1 MeV–3 MeV gamma rays in an inertial confinement fusion system, a new style of the Cherenkov detector was developed using aerogel and fused silica as a Cherenkov medium. Utilizing the OMEGA laser facility, both aerogel and fused silica media were compared with the existing gas-medium Cherenkov detector to validate the concept. Gamma ray measurements from high yield inertial confinement fusion implosions (deuterium–tritium and deuterium–3He) demonstrated that aerogel and fused silica were viable Cherenkov media, paving the way for a potential optimized detector to make these cross section measurements on OMEGA or the National Ignition Facility.
ISSN:0034-6748
1089-7623
DOI:10.1063/5.0002874