Izvestiya vuzov. Yadernaya Energetika

The peer-reviewed scientific and technology journal. ISSN: 0204-3327

Energy Characteristics of Thermonuclear Reaction Products in Plasma Taking into account Relativistic Effects and Plasma Temperature

6/30/2025 2025 - #02 Modelling processes at nuclear facilities

Godes A.I. Zolotukhin I.I. Fedorov D.V. Shablov V.L.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26583/npe.2025.2.11

UDC: 533.5:533.9

The present work is devoted to determination of energy characteristics of products of binary thermonuclear reactions in cold and hot isothermal (but nonrelativistic) plasmas taking into account relativistic effects and plasma temperature. In such formulation the problem was not considered earlier: it was supposed that relativistic and temperature effects are small due to smallness of energy yields of thermonuclear reactions in comparison with rest energies of plasma ions, as well as their kinetic energies in the characteristic region of assumed temperatures of thermonuclear fusion. However, as it turns out, for the correct determination of the Lawson criterion for alternative fusion systems based on D-3He and D-D fuels, whose expected temperatures are near and above 100 keV depending on the considered modes of operation of these systems (power amplification parameters, magneto-braking yield coefficients, fully catalysed or fully uncatalysed cycles) temperature effects can be significant. Explicit formulas for average energy characteristics of products of binary thermonuclear reactions taking into account temperature and relativistic effects are given. For particle masses, data from the international system of recommended values of fundamental physical constants CODATA (Committee on Data for Science and Technology, version 2022) were used, which led, taking into account relativistic effects, to deviations from the energies of the products of the two reactions with the largest energy yields D+T→n+a and D+3He→p+a – in both cases by 40 keV. The value of neutron energy in the first of the above reactions in cold plasma is 14.028 MeV. A modification of the formula for the neutron spectrum due to relativistic corrections is given. These results can be used in formulating the heat balance equation in plasma and determining the neutron flux from plasma, especially in the case of D-3He and D-D fusion, as well as for neutron diagnostics of D-T plasma.

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plasma physics controlled thermonuclear fusion thermonuclear reactions energy characteristics of products of thermonuclear reactions temperature and relativistic effects neutron plasma diagnostics

Link for citing the article: Godes A.I., Zolotukhin I.I., Fedorov D.V., Shablov V.L. Energy Characteristics of Thermonuclear Reaction Products in Plasma Taking into account Relativistic Effects and Plasma Temperature. Izvestiya vuzov. Yadernaya Energetika. 2025, no. 2, pp. 129-141; DOI: https://doi.org/10.26583/npe.2025.2.11 (in Russian).

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