The production of thermonuclear energy by the adiabatic compression of a ß ≫ 1-dense plasma by a cylindrical heavy liner is investigated. Energy yields and compression ratios are optimized as functions of the initial conditions (plasma temperature and nτ-product, liner inertia). D-T α-self–heating is computed by dividing the α-population into a Maxwellian cold part and a flat hot part. High-energy amplification requires α-self-heating and stability of the liner-plasma interface well after the turn-around time.