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      https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pram/096/0096

    • Keywords

       

      Low-energy nuclear reactions; nuclear electromagnetic transitions; Coulomb barrier; nuclear fusion with two-photon emission.

    • Abstract

       

      We propose a new mechanism for inducing low-energy nuclear reactions (LENRs). The process is initiated by a perturbation which we assumed to be caused by absorption or emission of a photon. Due to the electromagnetic perturbation, the initial two-body nuclear state forms an intermediate state to make a transition into the final nuclear state through the action of another perturbation. In the present paper,we take the second perturbation to be also electromagnetic. We need to sum over all energies of the intermediate state. Since the upper limit on this sum is infinity it is possible to get contributions from very high energies for which the barrier penetration factor is not too small. By considering a specific reaction, we determine the conditions under which this mechanism may lead to significantly enhanced reaction rates. We find that the mechanism leads to very small cross-sections in free space. However, in a condensed medium, there exist several possibilities leading to enhanced cross-sections, which may lead to observable reaction rates even at relatively low energies. Hence we argue that LENRs are possible and provide a theoretical set-up which may explain some of the experimental claims in this field.

    • Author Affiliations

       

      PANKAJ JAIN1 ANKIT KUMAR1 RAJ PALA2 K P RAJEEV1

      1. Physics Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208 016, India
      2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208 016, India
    • Dates

       
  • Pramana – Journal of Physics | News

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