Charged particle energy spectra from laser-induced processes: Nuclear fusion in ultra-dense deuterium D(0)

Clear high-energy particle signatures of laser-induced nuclear fusion are now observed by energy spectroscopy with standard scintillation detectors. The particles observed are ejected from ultra-dense deuterium D(0) on the laser target. A colored glass-filter is used to distinguish between particles that create multiple photons in the plastic scintillator (electrons and ions) and those that interact only in the glass filter or in the photomultiplier (mesons and muons). Ions are observed with energy in the MeV range as in previous time-of-flight experiments. They lose kinetic energy in a gas at a pressure up to 20 mbar as expected. Electron energy distributions with exponential shape corresponding to a temperature up to 600 MK indicate ignition of fusion. Intense emission of penetrating high-energy nuclear particles is detected at a high signal level as also reported previously (in this journal) for spontaneous processes. Both line-spectra and broad energy distributions are observed for these particles. The broad distributions give linear Kurie plots and are thus due to beta decay as concluded previously.