THE ROSSELAND MEAN OPACITY OF A MIXTURE OF GOLD AND GADOLINIUM AT HIGH-TEMPERATURES

Radiation transport through high-opacity materials can be described us ing the Rosseland mean opacity of the medium, which is dominated by lo w-opacity regions in the frequency-dependent: opacity. By mixing gold and gadolinium, we can fill in low-opacity regions of one material;wit h high-opacity regions of another material, resulting in a material wi th a Rosseland mean opacity 1.5x higher than either of the constituent s. For a given laser energy, this can raise the temperature of the las er heated hohlraums, or for a given desired temperature, require less laser energy.