Enhancement of fusion rates due to quantum effects in the particles momentum distribution in nonideal media

This study concerns a situation when measurements of the nonresonant cross-section of nuclear reactions appear highly dependent on the environment in which the particles interact. An appealing example discussed in the paper is the interaction of a deuteron beam with a target of deuterated metal Ta. In these experiments, the reaction cross section for d(d,p)t was shown to be orders of magnitude greater than what the conventional model predicts for the low-energy particles. In this paper we take into account the influence of quantum effects due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle for particles in a non-ideal medium elastically interacting with the medium particles. In order to calculate the nuclear reaction rate in the non-ideal environment we apply both the Monte Carlo technique and approximate analytical calculation of the Feynman diagram using nonrelativistic kinetic Green's functions in the medium which correspond to the generalized energy and momentum distribution functions of interacting particles. We show a possibility to reduce the 12-fold integral corresponding to this diagram to a fivefold integral. This can significantly speed up the computation and control accuracy. Our calculations show that quantum effects significantly influence reaction rates such as p +7Be, 3He +4He, p +7Li, and 12C +12C. The new reaction rates may be much higher than the classical ones for the interior of the Sun and supernova stars. The possibility to observe the theoretical predictions under laboratory conditions is discussed

X-ray diffraction and multifrequency epr study of radiation-induced room temperature stable radicals in octacalcium phosphate

Octacalcium phosphate (OCP) ×Ca8H2(PO4)635H2O] has attracted increasing attention over the last decade as a transient intermediate to the biogenic apatite for bone engineering and in studies involving the processes of pathological calcification. In this work, OCP powders obtained by hydrolysis of dicalcium phosphate dehydrate were subjected to X- and γ-ray irradiation and studied by means of stationary and pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance at 9, 36 and 94 GHz microwave frequencies. Several types of paramagnetic centers were observed in the investigated samples. Their spectroscopic parameters (components of the g and hyperfine tensors) were determined. Based on the extracted parameters, the induced centers were ascribed to H0, CO33-, CO2 - and nitrogen-centered (presumably NO3 2-) radicals. The spectroscopic parameters of the nitrogen-centered stable radical in OCP powders were found to be markedly different from those in hydroxyapatite. According to X-ray diffraction data, c-ray irradiation allowed the phase composition of calcium phosphates to change; all minor phases with the exception of OCP and hydroxyapatite disappeared, while the OCP crystal lattice parameters changed after irradiation. The obtained results could be used for the tracing of mineralization processes from their initiation to completion of the final product, identification of the OCP phase, and to follow the influence of radiation processes on phase composition of calcium phosphates