Abstract

A theory of thermonuclear fusion caused by the irradiation of deuterium-iodide clusters with the field of a superatomic femtosecond laser pulse is developed. It is based on considering the process in which the sequential above-barrier multiple internal ionization of atomic ions within a cluster is accompanied by external field ionization. The theory is illustrated by taking the example of a cluster that is formed by 106 molecules of deuterium iodide and which is irradiated with a laser pulse of duration 50 fs and intensity 2×1018 W/cm2 at the peak. This case is dominated by I26+ atomic ions. The yield of neutrons from thermonuclear fusion in a deuteron-deuteron collision upon the passage of a laser pulse is calculated. The result is 105 neutrons per laser pulse. The mean kinetic energy of deuterons is estimated at 50 keV. Owing to induced inverse bremsstrahlung in scattering on multiply charged atomic ions, the electron temperature increases up to 28 keV. The role of the Mie resonance in the heating of the electron component is discussed.

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