Measurements of neutron emission induced by muons stopped in metal deuteride targets

An 80 MeV/c negative muon beam from the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron at Brookhaven National Laboratory was used to investigate the stopping of muons inside Pd, Ti and Y targets saturated with deuterium. Neutron emission from the targets was measured with an array of 3He detectors, and in some runs, the temperature of the target was monitored as a function of time, with and without a flux of muons on the target. The neutron rates were also measured for Pd cathodes in an active electrochemical cell similar in design to those used in so-called ''cold-fusion'' experiments, and the electrolyte solution was analyzed for excess tritium at rates consistent with these claimed in ''cold fusion'' experiments. Neutron production catalyzed fusion due to the presence of deuterium in palladium deuteride, PdD0.7, exposed to muons was determined in palladium 0.0 ± 0.03 (stat.) ± 0.25 (syst.) neutrons per stored muon. 15 refs., 5 figs