Novel Nuclear Reactions Observed in Bremsstrahlung-Irradiated Deuterated Metals

Bruce M. Steinetz, Theresa L. Benyo, Arnon Chait, and Robert C. Hendricks National Aeronautics and Space Administration Glenn Research Center Cleveland, Ohio 44135 Lawrence P. Forsley JWK Corporation Annandale, Virginia 22003 Bayarbadrakh Baramsai, Philip B. Ugorowski, and Michael D. Becks Vantage Partners, LLC Brook Park, Ohio 44142 Vladimir Pines and Marianna Pines PineSci Consulting Avon Lake, Ohio 44012 Richard E. Martin Cleveland State University Cleveland, Ohio 44115 Nicholas Penney Ohio Aerospace Institute Brook Park, Ohio 44142 Gustave C. Fralick and Carl E. Sandifer, II National Aeronautics and Space Administration Glenn Research Center Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Summary* d-D nuclear fusion events were observed in an electron screened, deuterated metal lattice by reacting cold deuterons with hot deuterons (d*) produced by elastically scattered neutrons originating from bremsstrahlung photodissociation (where “d” and “D” denote 2H). Exposure of deuterated materials (ErD3 and TiD2) to photon energies in the range of 2.5 to 2.9 MeV resulted in photodissociation neutrons that were below 400 keV and also the 2.45-MeV neutrons, consistent with 2H(d, n)3He fusion. Additionally, neutron energies of approximately 4 and 5 MeV for TiD2 and ErD3 were measured, consistent with either boosted neutrons from kinetically heated deuterons or Oppenheimer

Phillips stripping reactions in the highly screened environment. Neutron spectroscopy was conducted using calibrated leadshielded liquid (EJ-309) and plastic (stilbene) scintillator detectors. The data support the theoretical analysis in a companion paper, predicting fusion reactions and subsequent reactions in the highly screened environment.

------------------------------------------------------- *This paper was published by American Physical Society (APS) as Phys. Rev. C 101, 044610 (20 April 2020), and can be found at https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.101.044610.

1.0 Introduction In the pursuit of understanding astrophysical processes and effects of electron screening in fusion processes, many in the field (Refs. 1 to 7) have performed studies by directing deuteron beams into deuterated metal substrates and have measured substantially increased reaction rates over gas targets. The electron clouds in the metal targets act to screen the positive ion charge, whereby the projectile deuteron (d) effectively sees a reduced electrostatic barrier, leading to higher cross sections for d-D fusion than for bare nuclei. (Here and throughout the text “D” denotes 2H.)

The community introduced the concept of screening potential Ue to increase the probability of quantum tunneling by a uniform negative shift –Ue of the Coulomb barrier Uc(r) (Ref. 8). Researchers have found Ue ranging from ≈25 eV for gaseous targets (Ref. 9), to ≈50 eV for deuterated insulators and semiconductor targets (Refs. 5, 6, 10, and 11), and to much higher levels for metals such as beryllium (180 eV) and palladium (800 eV) (Refs. 5, 6, and 11). In a companion theoretical paper by Pines et al. (Ref. 12), a theoretical approach is introduced that combines the previously recognized lattice and shell electron contributions to screening, along with screening by plasma created from ionization channels temporally generated from γ irradiation, into an enhanced screening energy Ue and utilizes the concept of an enhancement factor f (E) to relate bare cross sections to those experimentally observed (Ref. 8). The experimental fusion cross section σexp(E) can be written as

( ) ( ) ( ) exp bare E E f E σ =σ (1) Here, the enhancement factor is formulated as ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) expe e e SEU EfE G E G E U S E E U + = −+ + (2) where G(E) is the Gamow factor, S(E) is the astrophysical S-factor,

and E is the projectile energy. In Reference 12 screening is shown to be effective not only to enhance nuclear tunneling but also to increase the probability of Coulomb scattering at large angles. Without screening, low angle scattering of hot charged “projectiles” dominates, resulting in nonproductive elastic scattering and reduced tunneling. Therefore, efficient electron screening is a necessary ingredient for inducing and sustaining nuclear fusion. From the analysis in Reference 12 it is also evident that an optimal way to exchange kinetic energy between particles would involve uncharged particles. Neutrons have high scattering cross sections on nuclear fuel (e.g., deuterons), and can deliver a substantial portion of their kinetic energy in a single elastic collision to the deuteron.

This report demonstrates the impact of efficient electron screening on localized fusion rates in a dense-fuel environment. Such an environment features the fuel at a very high-number density state, together with efficient screening by shell, conduction, or plasma electrons. Based on analysis results in Reference 12, neutrons are used to effectively heat deuterons.

Hot neutrons originate from photodisintegration of deuterons bombarded by photons above the 2.226 MeV level. The hot neutrons scatter and efficiently deliver nearly one-half of their energy to a deuteron (n, d). The hot deuteron is then able to be scattered at a large angle with a nearby cold deuteron in a highly screened environment, leading to efficient nuclear tunneling and fusion (D + d → n + 3He).

Maintaining one of the two fusing nuclei as a cold ion screened by electrons provides for highly efficient large-angle scattering and subsequent tunneling probabilities. This fusion cycle is performed at high fuel density inside a metal lattice to enable subsequent reactions with the host metal nuclei and other secondary processes. It is noted that the efficient scattering process described in this strongly screened environment is fundamentally different than other fusion processes (e.g., magnetic confinement, tokamak) in which all of the fuel nuclei are hot and reside in a weakly screened environment.

Such an environment is dominated by small-angle, nonproductive elastic Coulomb scattering with less efficient tunneling probability. Herein a fusion process is examined in which kinetic energy exchange from hot neutrons to the fuel provides the basis for fusion initiation and potential secondary nuclear events. Secondary processes following the initial fusion event include kinetically heated (d*) boosted fusion reactions (D + d* → n* + 3He); conventional secondary channels with 3He, t, α particles, and so forth; and potentially highly energetic interactions with the metal lattice nuclei, including Oppenheimer-Phillips stripping processes (Ref. 13).

The goal in this study was to explore fusion processes that make optimal use of strongly electron-screened environments, with high-density fuel, in a manner conducive for process multiplication via effective secondary reactions.

The experimental campaign described here was guided by the companion theoretical work by Pines et al. (Ref. 12) and the novel reactions observed in Steinetz et al. (Ref. 14), Benyo et al. (Ref. 15), Belyaev et al. (Ref. 16), and Didyk and Wisniewski (Ref. 17) using bremsstrahlung radiation.

2.0 Experimental Setup, Data Acquisition, and Analysis 2.1 Electron Accelerator and General Layout

This work demonstrates the impact of efficient electron screening on localized fusion rates in a dense fuel environment. Based on the theoretical insight of the companion work of this study (Pines, et al.), neutrons are used to effectively heat deuterons in primary and subsequent reactions with the well screened cold target fuel, where screening is provided by shell, conduction, or plasma electrons, resulting in d-D reactions measured by characteristic fusion energy neutrons.

This fusion cycle is performed at high fuel density inside a metal lattice, which enables subsequent reactions with the host metal nuclei and other secondary processes. Specifically, exposure of deuterated materials including ErD3 and TiD2 to bremsstrahlung photon energies (≤2.9 MeV) resulted in both photodissociation-energy neutrons and neutrons with energies consistent with 2H(d, n)3He fusion reactions, and also demonstrated process reproducibility.

This study and the companion theoretical study identified several key ingredients required for the observed fusion reactions. Deuterated metals present a unique environment with high fuel density (1022 to 1023 D atoms/cm3), which further increases the fusion reaction probability through shell and lattice electron screening, reducing the d-D fusion barrier.

Exposing deuterated fuels to a high-photon flux enhanced screening conditions near the cold D fuel. This additional screening further increases the Coulomb barrier transparency and further enhances fusion reaction rates.

In these tests, deuterons were initially heated by photoneutrons with an average energy of 145 keV from the 2.9-MeV beam energy to initiate fusion. However, other neutron sources would also provide the necessary deuteron kinetic energy. Calculations in the companion paper indicate that neither electrons nor photons alone impart sufficient deuteron kinetic energy to initiate measurable d-D reactions.

Neutron spectroscopy revealed that both d-D 2.45-MeV fusion neutrons were produced and other processes occurred. The data indicate that the significant screening enabled charged reaction products hot d* or 3He* to interact with the host metal. These interactions may produce the ≈4- and ≈5-MeV neutrons where Oppenheimer-Phillips stripping processes occurred in the strongly screened environment, capturing the proton and ejecting the neutron.

The current work demonstrates the ability to create enhanced nuclear reactions in highly deuterated metals with the deuteron fuel in a stationary center-of-mass frame.

This process eliminates the need to accelerate the deuteron fuel into the target with implications for several practical applications.

6.0 Future Work The current tests demonstrate the feasibility of initiating fusion reactions with simple, relatively inexpensive equipment. Ideally, these experiments should be repeated in the future with a pulsed beam to further validate the d-D fusion reactions and to further resolve the source of the higher-energy neutrons. The pulsed beam would allow use of time-of-flight instrumentation (not possible with the continuous wave beam used herein) to further corroborate the neutron energy measurements.

By following the described procedure with a precision γ beam it is possible to control neutron and deuteron energies to examine primary and boosted fusion and screened Oppenheimer-Phillips processes over a wide energy range. Nuclear cross sections can be established as a function of beam/deuteron energy and host materials. Process scale up using an energy-efficient LINAC, may lead to a new means of generating or boosting medical and industrial isotope production.

*This paper was published by American Physical Society (APS) as Phys. Rev. C 101, 044610 (20 April 2020), and can be found at https://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevC.101.044610

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Ponds & Fleishman may end up being the most important scientests in the history of man.

But will likely be uncredited.

4 posted on 06/11/2021 5:37:54 AM PDT by null and void (When you put bad people in charge expect bad things to happen, often in a spectacular and sudden way)

Fleischmann died; so he can’t get the Nobel Prize. Only Pons is still [barely] alive.

The Nobel only goes to those still living.

The award for dead famous scientists seems to be naming a unit of measurement after them. The percentage of Excess Heat in calorimetry will likely be known as a Pons.

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