Some aspects of the muon catalysis of d-t fusion

When a deuteron, a triton and a muon are bound in a (dμt) mesomolecule the nuclear reaction d + t → 4He + n takes place in a very short time. In this paper the processes following the nuclear reaction are studied. The probability of the muon sticking to the α-particle is found to be w = (1.2 ± 0.1) × 10-2. All the processes which can strip the (μα) during the slowing down are taken into account. At the end of the slowing down the probability for the muon still to be bound to the α-particle is $ ̄w = 9.1 × 10-3. Consequently the maximum number of d-t fusions one muon can catalyse is Nmax = 1 w ̄ = 110. The yields of K and L (μα) lines are also calculated: K = 0.60 × 10-2, L = 0.59×10-3. © 1981.