Nuclear processes in solids: basic 2nd-order processes

TL;DR

This paper explores how interactions in solids can significantly enhance low-energy nuclear reaction probabilities, especially through electron and heavy particle interactions, revealing new potential nuclear processes at low energies.

Contribution

It introduces a mechanism where Coulomb-assisted interactions in solids greatly increase low-energy nuclear reaction rates, supported by numerical analysis of specific reactions.

Findings

Electron-assisted $d+d\rightarrow ^{4}He$ is the dominant reaction channel.

Heavy charged particles can acquire large intermediate momenta, boosting reaction probabilities.

Low-energy nuclear reactions in solids may be more feasible than previously thought.

Abstract

Nuclear processes in solid environment are investigated. It is shown that if a slow, quasi-free heavy particle of positive charge interacts with a "free" electron of a metallic host, it can obtain such a great magnitude of momentum in its intermediate state that the probability of its nuclear reaction with an other positively charged, slow, heavy particle can significantly increase. It is also shown that if a quasi-free heavy particle of positive charge of intermediately low energy interacts with a heavy particle of positive charge of the solid host, it can obtain much greater momentum relative to the former case in the intermediate state and consequently, the probability of a nuclear reaction with a positively charged, heavy particle can even more increase. This mechanism opens the door to a great variety of nuclear processes which up till know are thought to have negligible rate at low energies. Low energy nuclear reactions allowed by the Coulomb assistance of heavy charged particles is partly overviewed. Nuclear $pd$ and $dd$ reactions are investigated numerically. It was found that the leading channel in all the discussed charged particle assisted $dd$ reactions is the electron assisted $d+d\rightarrow $ $^{4}He$ process.