INITIATION OF NUCLEAR-FUSION REACTIONS IN METAL-DEUTERIUM AND METAL-DEUTERIUM PLUS TRITIUM SYSTEMS BY BOMBARDMENT WITH NOBLE-GAS IONS

An experimental study confirms the possibility of initiating nuclear f usion reactions in metal-deuterium targets by bombarding them with ion s that are not the reagents of the fusion reaction, in particular, wit h noble gas ions. The yields of (d, d) and (d, t) reactions were deter mined as functions of energy (0.4 to 3.2 MeV) and mass of incident ion s (He+, Ne+, Ar+, Kr+, and Xe+). It is shown that at ion energies of s imilar to 0.l to 1 MeV, the yields of these reactions are rather high (10(-10) to 10(-7) event/ion), and they can be increased by raising th e incident ion energy, by an appropriate choice of the target. Practic al applications of the effect are discussed.