MUONIC MOLECULES IN LIQUID HYDROGEN
The yield and time distribution of 5.5-Mev gamma rays from the fusion reaction p + d yields He/sup 3/ + gamma were studied. The reaction was catalyzed by muons from the Nevis Synchrocyclotron which were stopped in a target containing high purity liquid hydrogen. A digitron of 30 nsec resolving time was used to study the yield of gamma rays as a function of the time that elapsed between the stopping of a muon and the emission of a gamma ray and as a function of the deuterium concentration, which was varied from 1 ppm to 25%. Analysis of the experimental distributions gave rates for the following muonic molecular processes: p mu i p yields p mu p, lambda /sub pp/=(1.89 plus or minus 0.10) X 10/sup 6/ sec/sup -1/ ; p mu +d yields d mu +p , lambda /sub e/ = (1.48 plus or minus 0.15) x 10/sup 10/ sec/sup -1/; d mu + p yields p mu d, lambda /sub pd/ = (5.8 plus or minus 0.3) x 10/sup 6/ sec/sup -1/; and p mu d yields He/sup 3/ + gamma , lambda /sub f/ = (0.305 plus or minus 0.01 0) x 10/sup 6/ sec/sup -1/. (The presence of the mu indicates a muonic molecule.) The yield of fusion gamma rays increased with increasing deuterium concentration until it reached a sataration value of (14.0 plus or minus 2.4)% at 1% concentration. At 25% deuterium concentration the yield increased by a factor of 1.17 plus or minus 0.01 above the saturation yield. This effect agreed with a prediction by Wolfenstein and Gershtein. When Ne was in solution in the H at a concentration of 1%, all of the muons transferred to the Ne; and the disappearance rate of muons bound to Ne was measured to be (0.658 plus or minus 0.010) x 10/sup 6/ sec/ sup -1/. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Columbia Univ., Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y. Nevis Labs.
- NSA Number:
- NSA-17-033003
- OSTI ID:
- 4676435
- Report Number(s):
- NEVIS-117
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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