State dependence of tunneling processes and thermonuclear fusion

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the initial quantum state affects tunneling processes, revealing that common approximations underestimate fusion reactivities significantly, which has implications for controlled energy production.

Contribution

It demonstrates the importance of initial quantum state preparation in tunneling calculations and provides analytical expressions for tunneling coefficients in a generalized potential.

Findings

Plane wave approximation underestimates fusion reactivities by an order of magnitude.

Tunneling coefficients are highly sensitive to initial state variances.

Results are relevant for optimizing controlled thermonuclear fusion processes.

Abstract

We discuss the sensitivity of tunneling processes to the initial preparation of the quantum state. We compare the case of Gaussian wave packets of different positional variances using a generalised Woods-Saxon potential for which analytical expressions of the tunneling coefficients are available. Using realistic parameters for barrier potentials we find that the usual plane wave approximation underestimates fusion reactivities by an order of magnitude in a range of temperatures of practical relevance for controlled energy production.