Can plasmonic materials enhance nuclear processes?

Plasmonic materials and nanostructures have found applications in a wide range of areas including solar energy, photocatalysis, and sensors, where electric field confinement can enhance the phenomenon under consideration. Recently, atomic fusion has received renewed interest as a potential form of energy generation that does not involve fossil fuels. For atomic fusion to occur, positively charged nuclei must overcome their Coulombic repulsion to get close enough to allow the nuclear strong force to take over. Because the barrier to fusion involves electromagnetic interactions, can fusion rates be increased using concepts from the field of plasmonics? In this talk, I will discuss how ideas from optics and plasmonics can be used to further modify the Coulombic barrier to fusion and potentially increase fusion rates.