Magnetic Effect on the Potential Barrier for Nucleosynthesis

TL;DR

This paper investigates how weak magnetic fields influence the permittivity and potential barriers in plasmas, revealing their impact on nucleosynthesis by reducing barriers and increasing fusion reaction rates.

Contribution

It introduces a magnetized permittivity model by solving the Boltzmann equation and compares it with the Debye potential method, highlighting magnetic effects on nucleosynthesis.

Findings

Magnetic fields increase permittivity in plasmas.

Enhanced permittivity reduces the potential barrier for fusion.

Magnetic effects influence nucleosynthesis since the Big Bang.

Abstract

We demonstrated that a weak magnetic field can increase the permittivity, leading to a reduction in the potential barrier within the Debye sphere consisting of electrons and a nucleus. By solving the Boltzmann equation with the inclusion of the magnetic field, we obtained the magnetized permittivity. The resulting enhanced permittivity field inversely decreases the potential barrier, thereby increasing the reaction rate between two fusing nuclei. We compared this Boltzmann kinetic approach with the Debye potential method. We found that they are qualitatively consistent. Further, we also derived the magnetized Debye potential composed of the conventional term with a new magnetic effect. Both approaches indicate that magnetized plasmas, which have existed since the Big Bang, have ultimately influenced permittivity, potential barrier, and nucleosynthesis.