Related papers: Nuclear fusion in a dense plasma
Real-time thermal field theory is used to reveal the structure of plasma corrections to nuclear reactions. Previous results are recovered in a fashion that clarifies their nature, and new extensions are made. Brown and Yaffe have introduced…
We investigate the effects of plasma interactions on resonance-enhanced fusion rates in stars. Starting from basic principles we derive an expression for the fusion rate that can serve as a basis for discussion of approximation schemes. The…
A new general expression is derived for nuclear electron capture rates within dense plasmas. Its qualitative nature leads us to question some widely accepted assumptions about how to calculate the effects of the plasma on the rates. A…
We solve the quasiclassical problem of tunneling through an external potential barrier in a dense plasma, where the tunneling particles undergo simultaneous collisions with other particles in thermodynamic equilibrium. Under such conditions…
Using a real-time formalism of equilibrium and nonequilibrium quantum-field theory, we derive the reaction-rate formula for neutrino-conversion ($\nu \to \nu'$) process and $\nu \bar{\nu}'$ annihilation process, which take place in a hot…
The Coulomb barrier is in general much higher than thermal energy. Nuclear fusion reactions occur only among few protons and nuclei with higher relative energies than Coulomb barrier. It is the equilibrium velocity distribution of these…
The problem of determining the effects of the surrounding plasma on nuclear reaction rates in stars is formulated ab initio, using the techniques of quantum statistical mechanics. We derive a result that expresses the complete effects of…
We analyze the effect of plasma screening on nuclear reaction rates in dense matter composed of atomic nuclei of one or two types. We perform semiclassical calculations of the Coulomb barrier penetrability taking into account a radial mean…
Inertial confinement fusion hotspots and cluster Coulomb explosion plasmas may develop a positive net electric charge. The Coulomb barrier penetrability and the rate of nuclear fusion reactions at ultra-low energies ($\lesssim 10$ keV) are…
Energy and momentum of the elementary excitations become independent variables in medium: energy and momentum statistical distributions are not identical. The momentum distribution and not the energy distribution is relevant for barrier…
In fusion reactions, the Coulomb barrier selects particles from the high-momentum part of the distribution. Therefore, small variations of the high-momentum tail of the velocity distribution can produce strong effects on fusion rates. In…
Modification of nuclear reactions due to impurities in plasma is investigated. The hindering effect of Coulomb repulsion between reacting particles, that is effective in direct reactions, can practically disappear if Coulomb interaction of…
Detailed calculations of the contribution from off-shell effects to the quasiclassical tunneling of fusing particles are provided. It is shown that these effects change the Gamow rates of certain nuclear reactions in dense plasma by several…
An approach to achieve nuclear fusion utilizing the formation of high densities of electrons and neutrals is described. The profusion of low energy electrons provides high dynamic electric fields that help reduce the Coulomb barrier in…
This article illustrates how very small deviations from the Maxwellian exponential tail, while leaving unchanged bulk quantities, can yield dramatic effects on fusion reaction rates and discuss several mechanisms that can cause such…
Nuclear collisions can compress nuclear matter to densities achieved within neutron stars and within core-collapse supernovae. These dense states of matter exist momentarily before expanding. We analyzed the flow of matter to extract…
Nuclear reaction rates in plasmas depend on the overlap (contact) probability of the reacting ions. Path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) calculations are used here to determine these contact probabilities, g(0), for the one component plasma…
In this paper we analyze the nuclear fusion rate between equal nuclei for all five different nuclear burning regimes in dense matter (two thermonuclear regimes, two pycnonuclear ones, and the intermediate regime). The rate is determined by…
A reliable description of nuclear fusion reactions in inner layers of white dwarfs and envelopes of neutron stars is important for realistic modelling of a wide range of observable astrophysical phenomena from accreting neutron stars to…
Hydrodynamical analysis of experimental data of ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions seems to indicate that the hot QCD matter created in the collisions thermalizes very quickly. Theoretically, we have no idea why this should be true. In…