A novel approach to proton-boron-11 fusion
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866915947048075264 |
|---|---|
| author | Wang, Hong-Yi Li, Yu-Qi Wu, Qian Cui, Zhu-Fang |
| author_facet | Wang, Hong-Yi Li, Yu-Qi Wu, Qian Cui, Zhu-Fang |
| contents | Proton-boron-11 (p-$^{11}$B) fusion is a highly attractive aneutronic pathway for clean energy production, offering abundant fuel, negligible neutron activation, and the potential for direct energy conversion of charged $α$ particles. However, its practical implementation is severely hindered by the extremely high Coulomb barrier, necessitating ignition temperatures far beyond those of conventional deuterium-tritium reactions. In this work, we propose a novel approach to enhance the low-energy fusion cross-section by introducing a negative muon ($μ$). Instead of relying on the thermal equilibrium formation of a muonic molecule, we investigate a kinetic scenario in which a muonic hydrogen atom (p$μ$) is formed first and subsequently bombarded with a $^{11}$B nucleus. We quantitatively characterize the dynamic screening of the proton's Coulomb field by the tightly bound $μ$ cloud, the resulting modified Coulomb potential substantially lowers the effective barrier at intermediate separations. We also evaluate the penetrability, reaction cross-section, and reactivity of the p$μ$-$^{11}$B system, the results indicate that the inclusion of $μ$ enhances the tunneling probability by several orders of magnitude at incident energies below 100~keV, thereby significantly reducing the threshold for the nuclear reaction. This mechanism offers a promising alternative perspective for catalyzing p-$^{11}$B fusion, and also suggests a potential ignition pathway. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_18928 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A novel approach to proton-boron-11 fusion Wang, Hong-Yi Li, Yu-Qi Wu, Qian Cui, Zhu-Fang Nuclear Theory Plasma Physics Proton-boron-11 (p-$^{11}$B) fusion is a highly attractive aneutronic pathway for clean energy production, offering abundant fuel, negligible neutron activation, and the potential for direct energy conversion of charged $α$ particles. However, its practical implementation is severely hindered by the extremely high Coulomb barrier, necessitating ignition temperatures far beyond those of conventional deuterium-tritium reactions. In this work, we propose a novel approach to enhance the low-energy fusion cross-section by introducing a negative muon ($μ$). Instead of relying on the thermal equilibrium formation of a muonic molecule, we investigate a kinetic scenario in which a muonic hydrogen atom (p$μ$) is formed first and subsequently bombarded with a $^{11}$B nucleus. We quantitatively characterize the dynamic screening of the proton's Coulomb field by the tightly bound $μ$ cloud, the resulting modified Coulomb potential substantially lowers the effective barrier at intermediate separations. We also evaluate the penetrability, reaction cross-section, and reactivity of the p$μ$-$^{11}$B system, the results indicate that the inclusion of $μ$ enhances the tunneling probability by several orders of magnitude at incident energies below 100~keV, thereby significantly reducing the threshold for the nuclear reaction. This mechanism offers a promising alternative perspective for catalyzing p-$^{11}$B fusion, and also suggests a potential ignition pathway. |
| title | A novel approach to proton-boron-11 fusion |
| topic | Nuclear Theory Plasma Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.18928 |