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The adoption of a non-uniform dopant profile has substantially increased the tolerance to high mode deformations of our baseline indirect-drive design. In addition, a low deuterium-tritium (DT) gas density, obtained by 'dynamic quenching' at 2.3 K below triple point, could partly compensate for the decrease in robustness due to DT ageing. Finally, the net margin regarding all laser and target technological defects is about 2. As soon as a sufficient amount of laser beams and diagnostics is available, we will shoot pre-ignition experiments to tune the point design. We are studying new targets which need less energy for these campaigns.We have estimated different direct-drive schemes using indirect-drive beams. The optimal LMJ polar direct-drive configuration is a 2-cone one and leads to marginally igniting targets. A new 2-cone direct-drive scheme, associated with focal spot zooming, allows us to reach ignition with enough margin.

In the context of the French Laser-Mégajoule fusion-research program, the hydrodynamic stability of the baseline direct-drive target is investigated at the hot spot surface during the deceleration phase by means of modeling and simulations. Using the convergence of the flow towards a self-similar solution, a closed system of ordinary differential equations is derived for the main hydrodynamic variables. An exact linear stability analysis is performed to compute the Rayleigh-Taylor growths. All theoretical predictions are compared to one-dimensional and two-dimensional single-mode detailed numerical results.

In the frame of a CEA/US DOE collaboration, convergent experiments have been done on [be Nova laser. Numerical simulations with our 2D Lagrangian code FCI2 led the analysis and correctly reproduced the experimental data. From single mode 2D perturbations, ablation front Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth is computed. Moderate and high convergence ratios are addressed. The shrinking of the wavelength plays a prominent role for small convergence ratio and weakly nonlinear hydrodynamics.