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Shock propagation in aerogel and TPP foams for inertial fusion energy target design

Parisuaña, Claudia [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000316391264)·Valdivia, M. P. [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000233989586)·Bouffetier, V. [CELLS-ALBA Synchrotron Light Source, Barcelona (Spain)] (ORCID:0000000160791260)·Kurzer-Ogul, Kelin Nathaniel [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000326959431)·Pérez-Callejo, Gabriel [Univ. of Valladolid (Spain)] (ORCID:0000000337192352)·Bott-Suzuki, S. [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000319952151)·Casner, A. [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Arpajon (France)] (ORCID:0000000321761389)·Christiansen, Nikolaus Scott [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000327472975)·Czapla, N. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000263043134)·Eder, D. [Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000283124425)·Galtier, E. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:000000020396285X)·Glenzer, S. H. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000191120558)·Goudal, T. [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Arpajon (France)] (ORCID:0000000238185464)·Haines, B. M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000238897074)·Hodge, D. [DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT (United States)] (ORCID:0000000188273086)·Ikeya, M. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States)] (ORCID:000900013184915X)·Izquierdo, L. [Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago (Chile)] (ORCID:0000000263007088)·Khaghani, D. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000251392310)·Kim, Y. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000150020964)·Klein, S. [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000337558617)·Koniges, A. [Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000183033104)·Lee, H. J. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000240355637)·Leininger, M. [DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT (United States)] (ORCID:000900053272709X)·Leong, A. F. T. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000224934428)·Lester, Ryan Stuart [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000245883690)·Makita, M. [European XFEL, Schenefeld (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000315139198)·Mancelli, D. [Hellenic Mediterranean Univ. (Crete); Univ. of Bordeaux (France)] (ORCID:0000000300879759)·Martin, W. M. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000314283606)·Nagler, B. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000257367842)·Sandberg, R. L. [DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT (United States)] (ORCID:0000000197198188)·Truong, A. [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000944209977)·Vescovi, M. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000228285373)·Gleason, A. E. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000277365118)·Kozlowski, P. M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000168493612)
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Abstract

Achieving practical inertial fusion energy (IFE) requires the development of target designs with well-characterized microstructure and compression response. We measured shock dynamics in low-density (17.5–500 mg/cm 3 ) aerogel and two-photon polymerization (TPP) foams using x-ray phase contrast imaging (XPCI) methods and the Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector. By analyzing shock front evolution, we examined how target type and density influence shock propagation and energy dissipation. Talbot-XPCI shows that aerogels support a smooth, bowed shock front due to their homogeneous nanometer-scale pore network. In contrast, TPP foams exhibit irregular, stepwise propagation driven by interactions with their periodic micrometer-scale lattice. Shock velocity follows a power-law relation: aerogels deviate from classical ρ −1/2 scaling due to pore-collapse dissipation, while TPP foams follow the trend with larger uncertainties from density variations. Comparisons with xRAGE simulations reveal systematic underestimation of shock speeds. These results provide the first experimental constraints on shock propagation in TPP foams over a wide density range and highlight the influence of internal structure on anisotropic shock behavior. Our findings support improved benchmarking of EOS and hydrodynamic models and inform the design of foam architectures that promote implosion symmetry in IFE capsules.

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70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGYAerogelFusion energyHydrodynamics simulationsInterferometryLasersShock compressionShock wavesX-ray phase contrast imaging

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Parisuaña, Claudia [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000316391264), Valdivia, M. P. [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000233989586), Bouffetier, V. [CELLS-ALBA Synchrotron Light Source, Barcelona (Spain)] (ORCID:0000000160791260), Kurzer-Ogul, Kelin Nathaniel [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000326959431), Pérez-Callejo, Gabriel [Univ. of Valladolid (Spain)] (ORCID:0000000337192352), Bott-Suzuki, S. [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000319952151), Casner, A. [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Arpajon (France)] (ORCID:0000000321761389), Christiansen, Nikolaus Scott [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000327472975), Czapla, N. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000263043134), Eder, D. [Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000283124425), Galtier, E. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:000000020396285X), Glenzer, S. H. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000191120558), Goudal, T. [Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Arpajon (France)] (ORCID:0000000238185464), Haines, B. M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000238897074), Hodge, D. [DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT (United States)] (ORCID:0000000188273086), Ikeya, M. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States)] (ORCID:000900013184915X), Izquierdo, L. [Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago (Chile)] (ORCID:0000000263007088), Khaghani, D. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000251392310), Kim, Y. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000150020964), Klein, S. [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000337558617), Koniges, A. [Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000183033104), Lee, H. J. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000240355637), Leininger, M. [DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT (United States)] (ORCID:000900053272709X), Leong, A. F. T. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000224934428), Lester, Ryan Stuart [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000245883690), Makita, M. [European XFEL, Schenefeld (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000315139198), Mancelli, D. [Hellenic Mediterranean Univ. (Crete); Univ. of Bordeaux (France)] (ORCID:0000000300879759), Martin, W. M. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000314283606), Nagler, B. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000257367842), Sandberg, R. L. [DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT (United States)] (ORCID:0000000197198188), Truong, A. [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000944209977), Vescovi, M. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000228285373), Gleason, A. E. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); DOE IFE-STAR RISE-hub, Fort Collins, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000277365118), Kozlowski, P. M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000168493612). 2025-08-27. Shock propagation in aerogel and TPP foams for inertial fusion energy target design. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0273572

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