From [this SE post](https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/596730/), I see that the Coulomb force between two charged particles moving at relativistic speeds is balanced by the Lorentz force, and the overall force between the particles limits to zero as the particle's speed limits towards $c$.

This got me wondering: could this effect somehow be used to help overcome the Coulomb barrier in fusion reactions? For example, if a beam of deuterons could be accelerated to relativistic speeds, perhaps this effect could decrease the temperatures required to increase reaction cross sections to begin fusion.

I looked over the internet, and all I could find was [this arXiv](https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0607138) paper, which seems to suggest that this effect can be used to catalyze fusion.

What's wrong with this line of thinking? If this method was as simple as it sounds, then I imagine this would be a very active field of research - and yet, all I can find is a single, barely read, barely cited arXiv paper from 1997 over it. So, I'm guessing this idea, can't work, but I don't see why not.

The only thought I have is that possibly reaction rates may decrease due to time dilation, but again, I'm not extremely educated in special relativity.