CLUSTER-IMPACT FUSION WITH CLUSTER BEAMS

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Abstract
Recent experiments in which beams of D 2 O clusters impact on deuterated targets have been observed to produce higher than expected deuterium-deuterium ( D - D ) fusion rates, whereas similar experiments with pure D clusters produced no observable D - D fusion. We present a theoretical model capable of explaining these apparently conflicting experimental results. Our calculations indicate that heavy atoms such as O in the cluster, and Ti, Zr, or C in the target are essential for obtaining high fusion rates and D energy enhancement by double Rutherford backscattering in the experiments as conducted. We predict the conditions for obtaining comparable yields from D , D 2 O , and H 2 O clusters and propose a set of experimental tests.

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