Pycnonuclear reactions in dense astrophysical and fusion plasmas

Rates of pycnonuclear reactions in ultradense fluids and solids are evaluat ed by taking account of recent progress in quantum-statistical formulations of the equations of state and phase transitions in dense matter. New theor etical results are summarized for the reaction rates and the enhancement fa ctors, obtained through systematic studies of the screening effects by rela tivistic and nonrelativistic electrons, as well as of the thermodynamic pro perties of dense matter resulting from internuclear cohesion in electron-sc reened Coulombic fluids and solids; the results prove to be a significant i mprovement over those in a previous review [S. Ichimaru, Rev. Mod. Phys. 65 , 255 (1993)]. On the basis of these theoretical developments, coupled with renovated experiments in ultrahigh-pressure metal physics, outstanding iss ues of nuclear reactions in stellar and planetary interiors and in terrestr ial settings are explored, with inertial-confinement-fusion experiments, an d for a novel scheme of fusion studies in dense liquid-metallic proton-deut eron mixtures. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-664X(99)01807 -8].