Nuclear fusion in dense matter.
The standard theory of nuclear fusion rates in strongly interacting plasmas can be (correctly) derived only when the energy release Q is large compared to other energies in the problem. We exhibit a result for rates that provides a basis for calculating the finite Q corrections. Crude estimates indicate a significant defect in the conventional results for some regions of high density and strong plasma coupling. We also lay some groundwork for a path integral calculation of the new effects.
Sawyer
R F
RF
Department of Physics, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106 USA.