Theoretical studies on the stopping power of deuterium-tritium mixed with uranium plasmas for α particles

The stopping power of a compressed and highly ionized deuterium-tritium (DT) and uranium (U) plasma for a particles at very high temperatures (T = 5 keV) is examined theoretically with the dimensional continuation method. We show that with increasing density of U, both the magnitude and width of the resonance peak in the stopping power (as a function of the a particle energy), increases because of the ions, while the penetration distance of the a particles decreases. A simple relation of decreasing penetration distance as a function of plasma density is observed, which may be useful for inertial confinement fusion experiments. Moreover, by comparing the results with the case of a DT plasma mixed with beryllium, we find that the effect of a higher Z plasma is stronger, with regard to energy loss as well as the penetration distance of a particles, than that of a lower Z plasma. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.