Production of direct fusion neutrons during ultra-intense laser-plasma interaction

The plasma response to a picosecond multi-terawatt laser pulse is characterized by several distinctly different time scales. In the present report we consider the plasma's evolution on the slow time scale typical for excitations of the ionic component. A relativistically strong laser pulse (10(18)-10(19) W cm(-2)) is shown to drive, under proper conditions, mega-ampere ion currents with a typical ion energy of 50-150 keV, which covers the region of the resonance peak in the cross section of D-T fusion and, hence, provides an opportunity to initiate nuclear reactions directly in the laser focus.