Nuclear fusion driven by Coulomb explosion of homonuclear and heteronuclear deuterium- and tritium-containing clusters

The ionization and Coulomb explosion of homonuclear D_n and T_n (n=959–8007) and heteronuclear (D₂O)_n and (T₂O)_n (n=459–2171) clusters in very intense (I=5×10¹⁴–5×10¹⁸W cm^-2) laser fields is studied using classical dynamics simulations. The efficiency of the d+d and d+t nuclear fusion driven by the Coulomb explosion (NFDCE) is explored. The d+d NFDCE of (D₂O)_n heteronuclear clusters is enhanced by energetic and kinematic effects for D⁺, while for (T₂O)_n heteronuclear clusters the kinetic energy of T⁺ is dominated by energetic effects. The cluster size dependence of the fusion reaction yield has been established. The heteronuclear clusters provide considerably higher d+d and d+t fusion reaction yields than the homonuclear clusters of the same size. The clusters consisting of both D and T atoms can provide highly efficient d+t fusion reactions.