TheLawson criterion is afigure of merit used innuclear fusion research. It compares the rate of energy being generated by fusion reactions within the fusion fuel to the rate of energy losses to the environment. When the rate of production is higher than the rate of loss, the system will produce net energy. If enough of that energy is captured by the fuel, the system will become self-sustaining and is said to beignited.

The concept was first developed byJohn D. Lawson in a classified 1955 paper^[1] that was declassified and published in 1957.^[2] As originally formulated, the Lawson criterion gives a minimum required value for the product of the plasma (electron) densityn_e and the "energy confinement time"${\displaystyle {\tau }_E}$ that leads to net energy output.

Later analysis suggested that a more useful figure of merit is thetriple product of density, confinement time, and plasma temperatureT. The triple product also has a minimum required value, and the name "Lawson criterion" may refer to this value.

On August 8, 2021, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory'sNational Ignition Facility in California confirmed to have produced the first-ever successful ignition of a nuclear fusion reaction surpassing the Lawson's criteria in the experiment.^[3][4]

The central concept of the Lawson criterion is an examination of the energy balance for any fusion power plant using a hot plasma. This is shown below:

Net power = Efficiency × (Fusion − Radiation loss − Conduction loss)

1. Net power is the excess power beyond that needed internally for the process to proceed in any fusion power plant.
2. Efficiency is how much energy is needed to drive the device and how well it collects energy from the reactions.
3. Fusion is rate of energy generated by the fusion reactions.
4. Radiation loss is the energy lost as light (includingX-rays) leaving the plasma.
5. Conduction loss is the energy lost as particles leave the plasma, carrying away energy.

Lawson calculated the fusion rate by assuming that the fusion reactor contains a hot plasma cloud which has aGaussian curve of individual particle energies, aMaxwell–Boltzmann distribution characterized by the plasma's temperature. Based on that assumption, he estimated the first term, the fusion energy being produced, using the volumetric fusion equation.^[5]

Fusion = Number density of fuel A × Number density of fuel B × Cross section(Temperature) × Energy per reaction

1. Fusion is the rate of fusion energy produced by the plasma
2. Number density is the density in particles per unit volume of the respective fuels (or just one fuel, in some cases)
3. Cross section is a measure of the probability of a fusion event, which is based on the plasma temperature
4. Energy per reaction is the energy released in each fusion reaction

This equation is typically averaged over a population of ions which has anormal distribution. The result is the amount of energy being created by the plasma at any instant in time.

Lawson then estimated^[5] the radiation losses using the following equation:

${\displaystyle P_B=1.4\cdot {10}^{-34}\cdot N^2\cdot T^{1/2}\frac{\mathrm{W}}{{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^3}}$

whereN is the number density of the cloud andT is the temperature. For his analysis, Lawson ignores conduction losses. In reality this is nearly impossible; practically all systems lose energy through mass leaving the plasma and carrying away its energy.

By equating radiation losses and the volumetric fusion rates, Lawson estimated the minimum temperature for the fusion for thedeuterium–tritium (D-T) reaction

${\displaystyle {}_1^2\mathrm{D}+{}_1^3\mathrm{T}\to {}_2^4\mathrm{H}\mathrm{e}\left(3.5\mathrm{M}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}\right)+{}_0^1\mathrm{n}\left(14.1\mathrm{M}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}\right)}$

to be 30 million degrees (2.6 keV), and for the deuterium–deuterium (D-D) reaction

${\displaystyle {}_1^2\mathrm{D}+{}_1^2\mathrm{D}\to {}_1^3\mathrm{T}\left(1.0\mathrm{M}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}\right)+{}_1^1\mathrm{p}\left(3.0\mathrm{M}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}\right)}$

to be 150 million degrees (12.9 keV).^[2][6]

Theconfinement time${\displaystyle {\tau }_E}$ measures the rate at which a system loses energy to its environment. The faster the rate of loss of energy,${\displaystyle P_{\mathrm{l}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{s}}}$, the shorter the energy confinement time. It is the energy density${\displaystyle W}$ (energy content per unit volume) divided by the power loss density${\displaystyle P_{\mathrm{l}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{s}}}$ (rate of energy loss per unit volume):

${\displaystyle {\tau }_E=\frac{W}{P_{\mathrm{l}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{s}}}}$

For a fusion reactor to operate in steady state, the fusion plasma must be maintained at a constant temperature. Thermal energy must therefore be added at the same rate the plasma loses energy in order to maintain the fusion conditions. This energy can be supplied by the fusion reactions themselves, depending on the reaction type, or by supplying additional heating through a variety of methods.

For illustration, the Lawson criterion for the D-T reaction will be derived here, but the same principle can be applied to other fusion fuels. It will also be assumed that all species have the same temperature, that there are no ions present other than fuel ions (no impurities and no helium ash), and that D and T are present in the optimal 50-50 mixture.^a Ion density then equals electron density and the energy density of both electrons and ions together is given, according to theideal gas law, by

${\displaystyle W=3nT}$

where${\displaystyle T}$ is the temperature in electronvolt (eV) and${\displaystyle n}$ is the particle density.

Thevolume rate${\displaystyle f}$ (reactions per volume per time) of fusion reactions is

${\displaystyle f=n_{\mathrm{d}}{n}_{\mathrm{t}}⟨\sigma v⟩=\frac{1}{4}{n}^2⟨\sigma v⟩}$

where${\displaystyle \sigma }$ is the fusioncross section,${\displaystyle v}$ is therelative velocity, and${\displaystyle ⟨⟩}$ denotes an average over theMaxwellian velocity distribution at the temperature${\displaystyle T}$.

The volume rate of heating by fusion is${\displaystyle f}$ times${\displaystyle E_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}}}$, the energy of the charged fusion products (the neutrons cannot help to heat the plasma). In the case of the D-T reaction,${\displaystyle E_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}}=3.5\mathrm{M}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}}$.

The Lawson criterion requires that fusion heating exceeds the losses:

${\displaystyle f{E}_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}}\ge P_{\mathrm{l}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{s}}}$

Substituting in known quantities yields:

${\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}{n}^2⟨\sigma v⟩E_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}}\ge \frac{3nT}{{\tau }_E}}$

Rearranging the equation produces:

${\displaystyle n{\tau }_{\mathrm{E}}\ge L\equiv \frac{12T}{E_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}}⟨\sigma v⟩}}$

1

The quantity${\displaystyle T/⟨\sigma v⟩}$ is a function of temperature with an absolute minimum. Replacing the function with its minimum value provides an absolute lower limit for the product${\displaystyle n{\tau }_E}$. This is the Lawson criterion.

For thedeuterium–tritium reaction, the physical value is at least

${\displaystyle n{\tau }_E\ge 1.5\cdot {10}^{20}\frac{\mathrm{s}}{{\mathrm{m}}^3}}$

The minimum of the product occurs near${\displaystyle T=26\mathrm{k}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}}$.

A still more useful figure of merit is the "triple product" of density, temperature, and confinement time,nTτ_E. For most confinement concepts, whetherinertial,mirror, or toroidal confinement, the density and temperature can be varied over a fairly wide range, but the maximum attainable pressurep is a constant. When such is the case, the fusion power density is proportional top²<σv>/T ². The maximum fusion power available from a given machine is therefore reached at the temperatureT where <σv>/T ² is a maximum. By continuation of the above derivation, the following inequality is readily obtained:

${\displaystyle nT{\tau }_{\mathrm{E}}\ge \frac{12}{E_{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}}}\frac{T^2}{⟨\sigma v⟩}}$

The quantity${\displaystyle \frac{T^2}{⟨\sigma v⟩}}$ is also a function of temperature with an absolute minimum at a slightly lower temperature than${\displaystyle \frac{T}{⟨\sigma v⟩}}$.

For the D-T reaction, the minimum occurs atT = 14 keV. The average <σv> in this temperature region can be approximated as^[7]

${\displaystyle ⟨\sigma v⟩=1.1\cdot {10}^{-24}{T}^2\frac{{\mathrm{m}}^3}{\mathrm{s}},\mathrm{T}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{k}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V},}$

so the minimum value of the triple product value atT = 14 keV is about

This number has not yet been achieved in any reactor, although the latest generations of machines have come close.JT-60 reported 1.53x10²¹ keV.s.m⁻³.^[8] For instance, theTFTR has achieved the densities and energy lifetimes needed to achieve Lawson at the temperatures it can create, but it cannot create those temperatures at the same time.ITER aims to do both.

As fortokamaks, there is a special motivation for using the triple product. Empirically, the energy confinement time τ_E is found to be nearly proportional ton^1/3/P ^{2/3[citation needed]}. In an ignited plasma near the optimum temperature, the heating powerP equals fusion power and therefore is proportional ton²T ². The triple product scales as

The triple product is only weakly dependent on temperature asT ^-1/3. This makes the triple product an adequate measure of the efficiency of the confinement scheme.

The Lawson criterion applies toinertial confinement fusion (ICF) as well as tomagnetic confinement fusion (MCF) but in the inertial case it is more usefully expressed in a different form. A good approximation for the inertial confinement time${\displaystyle {\tau }_E}$ is the time that it takes an ion to travel over a distanceR at itsthermal speed

${\displaystyle v_{th}=\sqrt{\frac{k_{\mathrm{B}}T}{m_i}}}$

wherem_i denotes mean ionic mass. The inertial confinement time${\displaystyle {\tau }_E}$ can thus be approximated as

By substitution of the above expression into relationship (1), we obtain

This product must be greater than a value related to the minimum ofT ^3/2/<σv>. The same requirement is traditionally expressed in terms of mass densityρ = <nm_i>:

${\displaystyle \rho \cdot R\ge 1\mathrm{g}/{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^2}$

Satisfaction of this criterion at the density of solid D-T (0.2 g/cm³) would require a laser pulse of implausibly large energy. Assuming the energy required scales with the mass of the fusion plasma (E_laser ~ρR³ ~ρ⁻²), compressing the fuel to 10³ or 10⁴ times solid density would reduce the energy required by a factor of 10⁶ or 10⁸, bringing it into a realistic range. With a compression by 10³, the compressed density will be 200 g/cm³, and the compressed radius can be as small as 0.05 mm. The radius of the fuel before compression would be 0.5 mm. The initial pellet will be perhaps twice as large since most of the mass will beablated during the compression.

The fusion power times density is a good figure of merit to determine the optimum temperature for magnetic confinement, but for inertial confinement the fractional burn-up of the fuel is probably more useful. The burn-up should be proportional to the specific reaction rate (n²<σv>) times the confinement time (which scales asT ^-1/2) divided by the particle densityn:

Thus the optimum temperature for inertial confinement fusion maximises <σv>/T^3/2, which is slightly higher than the optimum temperature for magnetic confinement.

Lawson's analysis is based on the rate of fusion and loss of energy in a thermalized plasma. There is a class of fusion machines that do not use thermalized plasmas but instead directly accelerate individual ions to the required energies. The best-known examples are themigma,fusor andpolywell.

When applied to the fusor, Lawson's analysis is used as an argument that conduction and radiation losses are the key impediments to reaching net power. Fusors use a voltage drop to accelerate and collide ions, resulting in fusion.^[9] The voltage drop is generated by wire cages, and these cages conduct away particles.

Polywells are improvements on this design, designed to reduce conduction losses by removing the wire cages which cause them.^[10] Regardless, it is argued that radiation is still a major impediment.^[11]

• Fusion energy gain factor (Q)

^a It is straightforward to relax these assumptions. The most difficult question is how to define${\displaystyle n}$ when the ion and electrons differ in density and temperature. Considering that this is a calculation of energy production and loss by ions, and that any plasma confinement concept must contain the pressure forces of the plasma, it seems appropriate to define the effective (electron) density${\displaystyle n}$ through the (total) pressure${\displaystyle p}$ as${\displaystyle n=p/2T_{\mathrm{i}}}$. The factor of${\displaystyle 2}$ is included because${\displaystyle n}$ usually refers to the density of the electrons alone, but${\displaystyle p}$ here refers to the total pressure. Given two species with ion densities${\displaystyle n_{1,2}}$, atomic numbers${\displaystyle Z_{1,2}}$, ion temperature${\displaystyle T_{\mathrm{i}}}$, and electron temperature${\displaystyle T_{\mathrm{e}}}$, it is easy to show that the fusion power is maximized by a fuel mix given by${\displaystyle n_1/n_2=(1+Z_2{T}_{\mathrm{e}}/T_{\mathrm{i}})/(1+Z_1{T}_{\mathrm{e}}/T_{\mathrm{i}})}$. The values for${\displaystyle n\tau }$,${\displaystyle nT\tau }$, and the power density must be multiplied by the factor${\displaystyle (1+Z_1{T}_{\mathrm{e}}/T_{\mathrm{i}})\cdot (1+Z_2{T}_{\mathrm{e}}/T_{\mathrm{i}})/4}$. For example, with protons and boron (${\displaystyle Z=5}$) as fuel, another factor of${\displaystyle 3}$ must be included in the formulas. On the other hand, for cold electrons, the formulas must all be divided by${\displaystyle 4}$ (with no additional factor for${\displaystyle Z>1}$).

• Mathematical derivation, archived 2019 fromthe original

• Fusion power

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