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arXiv · 2502.07804

Nuclear Fusion Enhancement by Heavy Nuclear Catalysts

Christopher Grayson·Johann Rafelski
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Abstract

We seek to understand the effect of high electron density in the proximity of a heavy nucleus on the fusion reaction rates in a hot plasma phase. We investigate quantitatively the catalytic effect of gold ($Z=79$) ions embedded in an electron plasma created due to plasmonic focusing of high-intensity short laser pulses. Using self-consistent strong plasma screening, we find highly significant changes in the internuclear potential of light elements present nearby. For gold, we see a $14\,$keV change in the internuclear potential near the nuclear surface, independent of the long-distance thermal Debye-H\"uckel screening. The dense polarization cloud of electrons around the gold catalyst leads to a $\sim 1.5$ enhancement of proton-boron ($^{11}$B) fusion above $T=100\,$keV.

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Christopher Grayson, Johann Rafelski. 2025-02-05. Nuclear Fusion Enhancement by Heavy Nuclear Catalysts. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01623-x

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