Measurement of astrophysical S factors and electron screening potentials for d(d, n)3He reaction In ZrD2, TiD2, D2O, and CD2 targets in the ultralow energy region using plasma accelerators

Abstract

The paper is devoted to study electron screening effect influence on the rate of d(d, n)3He reaction in the ultralow deuteron collision energy range in the deuterated polyethylene (CD2), frozen heavy water (D2O) and deuterated metals (ZrD2 and TiD2). The ZrD2 and TiD2 targets were fabricated via magnetron sputtering of titanium and zirconium in gas (deuterium) environment. The experiments have been carried out using high-current plasma pulsed accelerator with forming of inverse Z pinch (HCEIRAS, Russia) and pulsed Hall plasma accelerator (NPI at TPU, Russia). The detection of neutrons with energy of 2.5MeV from dd reaction was done with plastic scintillation spectrometers. As a result of the experiments the energy dependences of astrophysical S factor for the dd reaction in the deuteron collision energy range of 2–7 keV and the values of the electron screening potential Ue of interacting deuterons have been measured for the indicated above target: Ue(CD2) ⩽ 40 eV; Ue(D2O) ⩽ 26 eV; Ue(ZrD2) = 157 ± 43 eV; Ue(TiD2) = 125±34 eV. The value of astrophysical S factor, corresponding to the deuteron collision energy equal to zero, in the experiments with D2O target is found: Sb(0) = 58.6 ± 3.6 keV b. The paper compares our results with other available published experimental and calculated data.