Using high energy density plasmas at the OMEGA and NIF laser facilities for nuclear astrophysics experiments

Thermonuclear reaction rates and nuclear processes have traditionally been explored by means of accelerator experiments, which are difficult to execute at conditions relevant to stellar or big bang nucleosynthesis. High energy density (HED) plasmas generated using lasers, e.g., such as the inertial confinement fusion platform at the NIF and OMEGA laser facilites, more closely mimic astrophysical environments in several ways, including with thermal distributions of reacting ions as opposed to mono-energetic ions impinging on a cold target; stellar-relevant plasma temperatures and densities; and neutron flux densities not found anywhere else on earth. This talk will present some initial nuclear astrophysics-relevant results for the T+T and solar 3He+3He reactions using this platform to illustrate the possibilities, and describe ongoing efforts to study the ³He+³He reaction at stellar-relevant conditions at the NIF and with unprecedented data quality at OMEGA. Future directions, including platform developments to study CNO-cycle-relevant reactions including higher Z ions, neutron capture on nuclei in excited states and electron screening will also be discussed.