Ion separation effects in mixed-species ablators for inertial-confinement-fusion implosions.

Recent efforts to demonstrate significant self-heating of the fuel and eventual ignition at the National Ignition Facility make use of plastic (CH) ablators [O. A. Hurricane et al.

Plasma adiabatic lapse rate.

The plasma analog of an adiabatic lapse rate (or temperature variation with height) in atmospheric physics is obtained. A new source of plasma temperature gradient in a binary ion species mixture is found that is proportional to the concentration gradient ∇α and difference in average ionization states Z(2)-Z(1). Application to inertial-confinement-fusion implosions indicates a potentially strong effect in plastic (CH) ablators that is not modeled with mainline (single-fluid) simulations.