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Anomalous enhancements of low-energy fusion rates in plasmas: the role of ion momentum distributions and inhomogeneous screening

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Coraddu M., Lissia M., Quarati P.

Open Physics

2009

vol. 7

issue 3

527-533

Non-resonant fusion cross-sections significantly higher than corresponding theoretical predictions are observed in low-energy experiments with deuterated matrix target. Models based on thermal effects, electron screening, or quantum-effect dispersion relations have been proposed to explain these anomalous results: none of them appears to satisfactory reproduce the experiments. Velocity distributions are fundamental for the reaction rates and deviations from the Maxwellian limit could play a central role in explaining the enhancement. We examine two effects: an increase of the tail of the target Deuteron momentum distribution due to the Galitskii-Yakimets quantum uncertainty effect, which broadens the energy-momentum relation; and spatial fluctuations of the Debye-Hückel radius leading to an effective increase of electron screening. Either effect leads to larger reaction rates especially large at energies below a few keV, reducing the discrepancy between observations and theoretical expectations.

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1 Open Physics

1 2009

1 Coraddu M.

1 Lissia M.

1 Quarati P.

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Anomalous enhancements of low-energy fusion rates in plasmas: the role of ion momentum distributions and inhomogeneous screening