Radiation Hydrodynamics and extended MHD studies in inertial confinement fusion and laser driven high energy density physics.

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The project will be largely based on exploring the different options for ignition of an ICF plasma within the three mainstream options (indirect, direct and magnetic drive) and in particular evaluating scaling of concepts to next generation facilities (including an upgraded NIF). The initial focus will be on exploring the advantages of novel designs in direct drive (for example the new pulse shapes currently being explored on Omega derived from machine learning studies) and arriving at a physics based understanding of the reasons behind the improved performance, as well as the potential implications for scaling to larger facilities. Another near term focus would be modelling polar direct drive shots on NIF. While these targets may not prove to be the final route to ignition and propagating burn, they currently match the record yields from indirect drive and are a very useful platform for exploring the option for direct drive at the NIF scale and studying some of the physics issues of other approaches, for example the effects of magnetic fields on electron heat flow. In addition to the work on ICF, we also envisage working on the design of other high energy density physics experiments in direct drive in collaboration with groups at LLE Rochester, MIT, University of Michigan and University of York. These are experiments which allow us to investigate some of the more fundamental physics involved in ICF capsules, in a more controlled experiments as well as helping the design of novel diagnostic approaches which can then be implemented in capsule implosion experiments.