Maximization of nuclear fusion reactivity via optimal energy distributions
Abstract
We investigate the optimization of nuclear fusion reactivity relative to the choice of energy probability distribution. A single Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) distribution is found to be optimal in the region where reactivity is a concave function of the average available kinetic energy, specifically near the reactivity peak. Conversely, in regions where the reactivity curve is convex, optimization is achieved through a bimodal MB distribution. We then discuss our results in the context of three classes of generalized energy distributions (superstatistics), which are modeled as a continuum of MB distributions. As expected, in all cases examined, the reactivity gains provided by superstatistics are bounded by the proposed optimal distribution. Finally, we apply these findings to deuterium-deuterium and deuterium-tritium fusion processes using empirical parametrizations of their respective cross sections. For both reactions, employing optimal bimodal MB distributions at low average energies-of particular interest for magnetically confined plasmas-yields a reactivity enhancement of approximately a factor of 2.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{onofrio2026maximization,
title = {{Maximization of nuclear fusion reactivity via optimal energy distributions}},
author = {Roberto Onofrio and Kamel Ourabah and Carlo Presilla},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.35507},
eprint = {2610.35507},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.35507},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Maximization of nuclear fusion reactivity via optimal energy distributions
AU - Roberto Onofrio
AU - Kamel Ourabah
AU - Carlo Presilla
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.35507
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.35507
AB - We investigate the optimization of nuclear fusion reactivity relative to the choice of energy probability distribution. A single Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) distribution is found to be optimal in the region where reactivity is a concave function of the average available kinetic energy, specifically near the reactivity peak. Conversely, in regions where the reactivity curve is convex, optimization is achieved through a bimodal MB distribution. We then discuss our results in the context of three classes of generalized energy distributions (superstatistics), which are modeled as a continuum of MB distributions. As expected, in all cases examined, the reactivity gains provided by superstatistics are bounded by the proposed optimal distribution. Finally, we apply these findings to deuterium-deuterium and deuterium-tritium fusion processes using empirical parametrizations of their respective cross sections. For both reactions, employing optimal bimodal MB distributions at low average energies-of particular interest for magnetically confined plasmas-yields a reactivity enhancement of approximately a factor of 2.
ER -