Experimental investigation of muon-catalyzed fusion

Data will be presented from the first experimental determination of the total yield of the muon-catalyzed fusion reaction: μ- + d + t → μ- + 4He + n + 17.6 MeV. In this reaction, an elementary particle known as the muon induces fusion without being affected by the nuclear reaction. Thus, it serves as a catalyst in the usual sense. The muon catalyzes many fusion reactions before decaying into an electron and neutrinos. The process is known as cold fusion since it proceeds rapidly for temperatures in the range from room temperature to about 8000C. An obvious advantage over thermal fusion approaches is that there is no plasma to contain. On the other hand, the muons which drive the reaction must be continually produced using a particle accelerator