D(d,p)t REACTION RATE ENHANCEMENT IN A MIXED LAYER OF Au AND Pd

Abstract

To investigate possible anomalies in nuclear reactions in solids, deuterium ion irradiation of deuterated Au/Pd samples have been performed with extensive measurements of reaction products and in situ characterization of the samples including ERDA and RBS. The D(d,p)t reaction rate has been observed to become three orders of magnitude greater than the calculated one. The deuterium density distribution in the sample with a composition modified by irradiation has been observed to peak at a depth appreciably greater than the projectile range. We speculate that the formation of the mixed layer of Au and Pd maintaining significantly high deuterium density is the key factor for the reaction rate enhancement.

Experiments on Condensed Matter Nuclear Events in Kobe University

“…In this section, we report recent results. The details of the experimental procedure are described in previous papers [1,2].…”

“…First, we are continuing experiments on keV-deuterium ion irradiation of deuterated Au/Pd samples, searching for possible anomalous nuclear reactions in solids. [1,2] The Au-coated surface of the Pd sample is irradiated with the keV-deuterium ions and with MeV ion beams for simultaneous characterization of the surface, while the rear surface is exposed to D 2 gas at atmospheric pressure to load the sample.…”