Measurements of the $\text{T}(t,2n)^{4}\text{He}$ Neutron Spectrum at Low Reactant Energies from Inertial Confinement Implosions

Abstract

Measurements of the neutron spectrum from the $\text{T}(t,2n)^{4}\text{He}$ $(tt)$ reaction have been conducted using inertial confinement fusion implosions at the OMEGA laser facility. In these experiments, deuterium-tritium (DT) gas-filled capsules were imploded to study the $tt$ reaction in thermonuclear plasmas at low reactant center-of-mass (c.m.) energies. In contrast to accelerator experiments at higher c.m. energies (above 100 keV), these results indicate a negligible $n+^{5}\text{He}$ reaction channel at a c.m. energy of 23 keV.