The science applications of the high‐energy density plasmas created on the Nova laser

Since the late 1970s it has been realized that the laser‐heated hohlraums envisioned for indirect drive Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) could also serve as ‘‘physics factories’’ by providing a high‐energy density environment for the study of a wide variety of physics with important applications. In this review we will describe some of these studies, accomplished in the early 1990s using the Nova laser [J. T. Hunt and D. R. Speck, Opt. Eng. 28, 461 (1989)] at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. They include measuring the opacity of Fe, thus confirming that the O P A L low Z opacity code [C. A. Iglesias and F. J. Rogers, Astrophys. J. 443, 460 (1995)] is quantitatively more accurate than ‘‘standard’’ models, with important astrophysical implications such as modeling the Cepheid variables [F. J. Rogers and C. A. Iglesias, Science 263, 50 (1994)]; measuring the Rosseland mean opacity of Au, confirming the correctness of the ‘‘Super Transition Array’’ (STA) high‐Z code [Bar Shalom et al., Phys. Rev. A 40, 3183 (1989)] with important implications for ignition targets designed for the National Ignition Facility (NIF); sophisticated Rayleigh–Taylor and other hydrodynamic turbulence experiments and analysis that serve as a test bed for understanding astrophysical observations such as supernova explosions; using laboratory x‐ray lasers for probing high‐density ICF plasmas as well as biology; and creating near Gbar pressures [Cauble et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 2102 (1993)]. Expanded opportunities for such research on the NIF will also be described.