PYCNONUCLEAR FUSION RATES

We consider nuclear reactions in high-density ionic crystals at zero temperature. The adiabatic potential governing the motion of the fusing nuclei is computed numerically for bcc and fee lattices The effects of lattice polarization on both the adiabatic potential and the effective tunneling mass are treated exactly We find that these two effects almost cancel, resulting in a reaction rate nearly equal to that calculated by neglecting lattice polarization. Analytical expressions for the reaction rates are given, as are explicit fusion rates in a carbon plasma.