Controlled fusion with hot-ion mode in a degenerate plasma

In a Fermi-degenerate plasma, the rate of electron physical processes is much reduced from the classical prediction, possibly enabling new regimes for controlled nuclear fusion, including the hot-ion mode, a regime in which the ion temperature exceeds the electron temperature. Of great importance in the hot-ion mode operation are the ion–electron collision rate and the fraction of energy that goes from fusion by-products into electrons, the previous calculations of which are refined here by including the relativistic effect and partial degeneracy.