Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems

The survey presents the analysis of the phenomena taking place in deuterium - metal and natural hydrogen - metal systems under cold fusion experimental conditions. The cold fusion experiments have shown that the generation of heat and helium in the deuterium-metal system without emission of energeti...

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Автор: Zelensky, V.F.
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Опубліковано: Національний науковий центр «Харківський фізико-технічний інститут» НАН України 2013
Назва видання:Вопросы атомной науки и техники
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Цитувати:Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems / V.F. Zelensky // Вопросы атомной науки и техники. — 2013. — № 3. — С. 76-118. — Бібліогр.: 196 назв. — англ.

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spelling irk-123456789-1118602017-01-16T03:02:47Z Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems Zelensky, V.F. Ядерная физика и элементарные частицы The survey presents the analysis of the phenomena taking place in deuterium - metal and natural hydrogen - metal systems under cold fusion experimental conditions. The cold fusion experiments have shown that the generation of heat and helium in the deuterium-metal system without emission of energetic gamma-quanta is the result of occurrence of a chain of chemical, physical and nuclear processes observed in the system, culminating in both the fusion of deuterium nuclei and the formation of a virtual, electron-modified excited 4He nucleus. The excitation energy of the helium nucleus is transferred to the matrix through emission of conversion electrons, and that, under appropriate conditions, provides a persistent synthesis of deuterium. The processes occurring in the deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems have come to be known as chemonuclear DD- and HD-fusion. The mechanism of stimulation of weak interaction reactions under chemonuclear deuterium fusion conditions by means of strong interaction reactions has been proposed. The results of numerous experiments discussed in the survey bear witness to the validity of chemonuclear fusion. From the facts discussed it is concluded that the chemonuclear deuterium fusion scenario as presented in this paper may serve as a basis for expansion of deeper research and development of this ecologically clean energy source. It is shown that the natural hydrogen-based system, containing 0.015% of deuterium, also has good prospects as an energy source. The chemonuclear fusion processes do not require going beyond the scope of traditional physics for their explanation. Представленi результати аналiзу явищ, що мають мiсце в умовах дослiдiв холодного синтезу в системах дейтерiй-метал i природний водень-метал. Показано, що генерування в дослiдах холодного синтезу в системi дейтерiй-метал тепла i гелiю без емiсiї енергiйних гамма-квантiв – результат протiкання в цiй системi ланцюжка хiмiчних, фiзичнихi ядерних процесiв, що завершуються злиттям ядер дейтерiю i утворенням модифiкованого електроном вiртуального, збудженого ядра гелiю-4. Енергiя збудження ядра гелiю передається матрицi емiсiєю конверсiйних електронiв, що при вiдповiдних умовах забезпечує незгасаючий процес синтезу дейтерiю. Процеси в системi дейтерiй/природний водень-метал отримали назву – хемоядерний DD- i HD- синтез. Запропоновано механiзм стимулювання в умовах хемоядерного синтезу дейтерiю реакцiй слабкої взаємодiї за рахунок реакцiй сильної взаємодiї. Розглянутi в роботi результати численних дослiдiв свiдчать на користь достовiрностi хемоядерного синтезу. Робиться висновок проте, що сценарiй хемоядерного синтезу дейтерiю в тому виглядi, як вiн представлений в роботi, може служити пiдставою для розгортання робiт з глибокого вивчення й освоєння цього екологiчно чистого джерела енергiї. Показано, що система за участю природного водню, що мiстить 0.015% дейтерiю, також має серйознi перспективи для використання в якостi джерела енергiї. Процеси хемоядерного сценарiю синтезу невимагають для свого пояснення виходити за рамки традицiйної фiзики. Представлены результаты анализа явлений, имеющих место в условиях опытов холодного синтеза в системах дейтерий-металл и природный водород-металл. Показано, что генерирование в опытах холодного синтеза в системе дейтерий-металл тепла и гелия без эмиссии энергичных гамма-квантов – результат протекания в этой системе цепочки химических, физических и ядерных процессов, завершающихся слиянием ядер дейтерия и образованием модифицированного электроном виртуального, возбужденного ядра гелия - 4. Энергия возбуждения ядра гелия передается матрице эмиссией конверсионных электронов, что при соответствующих условиях обеспечивает незатухающий процесс синтеза дейтерия. Процессы в системе дейтерий/природный водород-металл получили название – хемоядерный DD- и HD-синтез. Предложен механизм стимулирования в условиях хемоядерного синтеза дейтерия реакций слабого взаимодействия за счёт реакций сильного взаимодействия. Рассмотренные в работе результаты многочисленных опытов свидетельствуют в пользу достоверности хемоядерного синтеза. Делается вывод о том, что сценарий хемоядерного синтеза дейтерия в том виде, как он представлен в работе, может служить основанием для разворачивания работ по глубокому изучению и освоению этого экологически чистого источника энергии. Показано, что система с участием природного водорода, содержащего 0.015% дейтерия, также имеет серьезные перспективы для использования в качестве источника энергии. Процессы хемоядерного сценария синтеза не требуют для своего объяснения выхода за рамки традиционной физики. 2013 Article Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems / V.F. Zelensky // Вопросы атомной науки и техники. — 2013. — № 3. — С. 76-118. — Бібліогр.: 196 назв. — англ. 1562-6016 PACS: 25.45 http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/111860 en Вопросы атомной науки и техники Національний науковий центр «Харківський фізико-технічний інститут» НАН України
institution Digital Library of Periodicals of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
collection DSpace DC
language English
topic Ядерная физика и элементарные частицы
Ядерная физика и элементарные частицы
spellingShingle Ядерная физика и элементарные частицы
Ядерная физика и элементарные частицы
Zelensky, V.F.
Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems
Вопросы атомной науки и техники
description The survey presents the analysis of the phenomena taking place in deuterium - metal and natural hydrogen - metal systems under cold fusion experimental conditions. The cold fusion experiments have shown that the generation of heat and helium in the deuterium-metal system without emission of energetic gamma-quanta is the result of occurrence of a chain of chemical, physical and nuclear processes observed in the system, culminating in both the fusion of deuterium nuclei and the formation of a virtual, electron-modified excited 4He nucleus. The excitation energy of the helium nucleus is transferred to the matrix through emission of conversion electrons, and that, under appropriate conditions, provides a persistent synthesis of deuterium. The processes occurring in the deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems have come to be known as chemonuclear DD- and HD-fusion. The mechanism of stimulation of weak interaction reactions under chemonuclear deuterium fusion conditions by means of strong interaction reactions has been proposed. The results of numerous experiments discussed in the survey bear witness to the validity of chemonuclear fusion. From the facts discussed it is concluded that the chemonuclear deuterium fusion scenario as presented in this paper may serve as a basis for expansion of deeper research and development of this ecologically clean energy source. It is shown that the natural hydrogen-based system, containing 0.015% of deuterium, also has good prospects as an energy source. The chemonuclear fusion processes do not require going beyond the scope of traditional physics for their explanation.
format Article
author Zelensky, V.F.
author_facet Zelensky, V.F.
author_sort Zelensky, V.F.
title Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems
title_short Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems
title_full Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems
title_fullStr Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems
title_full_unstemmed Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems
title_sort nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems
publisher Національний науковий центр «Харківський фізико-технічний інститут» НАН України
publishDate 2013
topic_facet Ядерная физика и элементарные частицы
url http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/111860
citation_txt Nuclear processes in deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems / V.F. Zelensky // Вопросы атомной науки и техники. — 2013. — № 3. — С. 76-118. — Бібліогр.: 196 назв. — англ.
series Вопросы атомной науки и техники
work_keys_str_mv AT zelenskyvf nuclearprocessesindeuteriumnaturalhydrogenmetalsystems
first_indexed 2025-07-08T02:48:56Z
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fulltext NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND ELEMENTARY PARTICLES NUCLEAR PROCESSES IN DEUTERIUM/NATURAL HYDROGEN - METAL SYSTEMS V.F. Zelensky∗ National Science Center ”Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology”, 61108, Kharkov, Ukraine Preprint: Kharkov, Ukraine, KhFTI, 1-85, [197] (Received March 19, 2013) The survey presents the analysis of the phenomena taking place in deuterium - metal and natural hydrogen - metal systems under cold fusion experimental conditions. The cold fusion experiments have shown that the generation of heat and helium in the deuterium-metal system without emission of energetic gamma-quanta is the result of occurrence of a chain of chemical, physical and nuclear processes observed in the system, culminating in both the fusion of deuterium nuclei and the formation of a virtual, electron-modified excited 4He nucleus. The excitation energy of the helium nucleus is transferred to the matrix through emission of conversion electrons, and that, under appropriate conditions, provides a persistent synthesis of deuterium. The processes occurring in the deuterium/natural hydrogen - metal systems have come to be known as chemonuclear DD- and HD-fusion. The mechanism of stimulation of weak interaction reactions under chemonuclear deuterium fusion conditions by means of strong interaction reactions has been proposed. The results of numerous experiments discussed in the survey bear witness to the validity of chemonuclear fusion. From the facts discussed it is concluded that the chemonuclear deuterium fusion scenario as presented in this paper may serve as a basis for expansion of deeper research and development of this ecologically clean energy source. It is shown that the natural hydrogen-based system, containing 0.015% of deuterium, also has good prospects as an energy source. The chemonuclear fusion processes do not require going beyond the scope of traditional physics for their explanation. PACS: 25.45 CONTENTS Introduction 77 Chapter 1. Chemonuclear fusion in the deuterium-metal system 79 Section 1. Three channels of the 2D-fusion reaction in vacuum 79 Section 2. ND-chemonuclear reaction scenario 80 Section 3. Spontaneous generation of accelerated particles in hydrogen isotope-loaded solid-state matrices 81 3.1. Fractoplasma mechanism of charged particle acceleration in a condensed substance 82 3.2. Nanostructure mechanism of deuteron acceleration 83 3.3. Microacceleration mechanism of fusion initiation in deuterium-loaded metal-insulator composite matrices 84 3.4. Quasi-molecular mechanism of fusion initiation in deuterium/natural hydrogen-metal systems 84 3.5. Proton (deuteron) acceleration due to collective electron beam-plasma ion interactions 84 3.6. Experimental verification of the mechanisms of deuterium fusion initiation by the chemonuclear 2D-scenario 85 Section 4. Hn+-(Dn+-) cluster generation in hydrogen (deuterium) gas discharge 85 Section 5. Role of quasi-molecular states in chemonuclear fusion scenarios 87 Section 6. Electronic screening of reacting deuterium nuclei in condensed substances 87 Section 7. Emission of conversion electrons in chemonuclear fusion scenarios 88 Section 8. X-ray emission in chemonuclear fusion scenarios 90 Section 9. Deuterium fusion in the D2+-cluster in the electron core of the quasi-molecule (2D-chemonuclear fusion) 91 Section 10. On the mechanism of Coulomb barrier suppression under chemonuclear fusion conditions 95 ∗Corresponding author E-mail address: vgamov@kipt.kharkov.ua 76 ISSN 1562-6016. PROBLEMS OF ATOMIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 2013, N3(85). Series: Nuclear Physics Investigations (60), p.76-118. Section 11. Wave properties of interacting particles in the chemonuclear fusion scenario 96 Section 12. Deuterium fusion in the D3+-cluster in the electron core of the quasi-molecule (3D-chemonuclear fusion) 97 Section 13. 3D-fusion reactions in the deuterium-TiD1,4 system 97 Section 14. Bineutron hypothesis in current studies 98 Section 15. Weak interaction reactions and the bineutron in the deuterium chemonuclear fusion scenario 100 Section 16. Cold fusion - deuterium chemonuclear fusion in the deuterium-metal system 101 Chapter 2. Chemonuclear fusion in the natural hydrogen-metal system (HD-chemonuclear) fusion reaction 107 Section 1. Anomalous effects in the natural hydrogen-metal system 107 Section 2. HD chemonuclear fusion scenario 108 Section 3. HD chemonuclear fusion scenario - cold fusion in the natural hydrogen-metal system 110 Section 4. HD chemonuclear fusion and abundance of tritium and helium isotopes on the Earth 112 Conclusion 112 List of references 113 1. INTRODUCTION In the last few decades, along with realization of large-scale thermonuclear fusion development pro- grams in the context of international cooperation, a new line of fusion research has begun to develop, though still remaining unrecognized by official science and nearly unfunded by the state. This line of inves- tigation is now often called as the condensed matter nuclear science (CMNS). However, so far this term is not the only one and generally accepted, there exist some other names such as cold fusion [1, 2], LENR [3], LNF [4]. The investigations in this field have originated from the pioneer works by Fleishman and Pons [1], who reported in March, 1989, their observation of the 2D-fusion reaction in palladium during electrolysis in electrolytes comprising heavy water D2O. Almost si- multaneously with this, the observation of nuclear re- actions in the experiments similar to those of Fleish- man and Pons was reported by Jones [2]. A great many works dealing with the problem have been per- formed since then. In the studies of the reactions in condensed matter, the scientists have started to use not only electrolysis, but also gas discharge in deuterium, gas loading, ion implantation and other methods. The results of investigations in the field under discussion were reported at 17 international conferences and at a great number of regional meet- ings. Thousands of scientific articles and a variety of surveys have been published. Among them, we mention an extensive survey published in 2007 by Storms [3], one of the pioneers in the field of cold fusion research, who generalized the research results throughout the lifetime of this line of research. Many of works cited in that survey were performed at a high experimental level; they are well reproduced in the experiments of investigators from different coun- tries and, therefore, are entirely trustworthy. As of now, more than 100 investigators have argued that they observed excessive heat release during electrol- ysis in heavy-water electrolytes [5]. The intensity of nuclear reactions registered by different authors ranges from λ ∼ 10−24...10−23 s−1 (DD)−1 (”Jones level”) to λ ∼ 10−19...10−14 s−1 (DD)−1 (”Fleishman and Pons level”) [3]. The heat release level observed in some experiments attained 0.8 kW and more per cm3 of palladium (cf., power density in the water- moderated water-cooled reactor is 80 W/cm3 [7]). There is some evidence for local cathode surface melt- ing [3] and even for electrolysis unit blowup [8, 9, 189, 195]. Many investigators have obtained indications of the nuclear nature of the phenomenon, viz., pro- duction of ”nuclear ash” - helium, transmutation of heavy nuclei, tritium generation, etc. At present, many people believe that in all cases where appropriate measures are taken in the mea- surements, ”the nuclear reactions in substances” are accompanied by emission of high-energy nuclear ra- diation of one kind or another (charged particles, γ-, X-rays, etc.). Until recently, it has been commonly believed that in all cases the level of the mentioned radiation is many orders of magnitude lower than the one that might be expected if it is assumed that the reactions of traditional thermonuclear fusion are re- sponsible for the process. However, in their recent works, Storms and Scanlan [10, 11] have indicated that the corpuscular/ electromagnetic radiation level in cold fusion experiments may reach the values com- parable to the yields of heat and helium. The level of neutron-emitting reactions is very low. A large num- ber of theoretical investigations in the CMNS area have been carried out. However, at present there is no universally accepted theory as yet. Up till now there are no keys to three main ”riddles” of cold fu- sion [3]: 1. What mechanism removes the Coulomb barrier-stipulated inhibition of the occurrence of D-fusion reactions? 2. How to explain in this case a striking difference between the probabilities for the neutron-emitting re- action and traditional hot fusion reaction to occur in the channels? 3. What is the mechanism of nuclear excitation energy transfer to the crystal lattice of the matrix if no radiation of gamma-quanta or charged particles at the appropriate level is detected? 77 Equally enigmatic is an extremely-high-at-these- conditions level of heat/helium emission reactions (”Fleischman-Pons level”). The studies on light water (H2O) and hydrogen hold a special place in the research of nuclear reac- tions in a condensed matter. The statements made by Mills and Kneizys in 1991 [12] about excess heat pro- duction in their electrolysis experiments using nickel as a cathode material and the K2CO3 solution in light water as an electrolyte, were unexpected for many investigators. Since that time their experimen- tal results have been reproduced at many laborato- ries. The methods of heat production with the use of hydrogen have been patented (Patterson I.A. [13], Piantelli [188] ). However, at the present time the protium nuclear processes in a condensed matter re- main on the whole substantially less well understood as compared to similar processes with deuterium. Over many years the author of the present pa- per takes direct part in the set-up and execution of the investigations on the subject at the NSC KIPT (Kharkov, Ukraine). For example, in April, 1989, soon after sensational statements of Fleishman and Pons, a wide experience gained by KIPT workers in the field of radiation-matter interaction physics and nuclear physics encouraged us to discover a number of ”anomalous effects” in the experiments on low- temperature implantation of deuterium into palla- dium. Among them, there were: the charged parti- cle emission after termination of implantation, which pointed to the occurrence of binary (and more com- plicated) deuterium fusion reactions; the generation of excess heat and tritium, etc. A decisive role of thermoswings in the initiation of anomalous phenom- ena was disclosed (Sec.3, Ch.1). For the most part, the findings of those experiments were confirmed in our subsequent studies and the experiments of other authors (Sec.16, Ch.1). Unfortunately, that work in its original version was not published. In the middle of April, 1989, after heated discussion at the NSC KIPT Research Council11 the work was sent for publication to the editorial office of the Soviet Physics-JETP (Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics). However, the attempt to publish the work in the official journal did not meet with success (as is now often the case with the works in this research field). The article was not accepted for publication for the reason of ”a dis- putable character of the problem”. And only after an essential revision (with exclusion of most ”disputable issues” such as the excess heat emission, the role of correlated atom collisions in the realization of fusion reactions, etc.), the article was published [16, 17]. Great obstacles were up against publishing an- other our work (1991) ”About the nature of the phe- nomena that initiate deuterium nuclear fusion reac- tions in substances” [18]. There, we have put in doubt the very idea of cold fusion ”a possibility of existence of the crystal lattice conditions that are favorable for spontaneous fusion of deuterium nuclei at room tem- perature”, and put forward the acceleration mecha- nism for initiation of these reactions (Sec.3, Ch.1); the effect itself was proposed to be called as ”nuclear fusion in substances (NFS)”. Because of the mentioned publishing difficulties, in all our subsequent articles up to the present survey, we limited ourselves to presenting our experimental results without an extended discussion of the causes that gave rise to those results. The present work is the first (after 1991) sufficiently full presentation of our perceptions about the nature of the phenomena responsible for the occurrence of nuclear reactions in the matter. As known, the negation of findings of any cold fusion investigation by the scientific community is based on an unconditional acceptance of the valid- ity of three theoretical bans on the occurrence of low-temperature transmutation of chemical elements [162], namely: 1. Impossibility of Coulomb barrier penetration; 2. Extremely low cross-sections for weak processes; 3. Low probabilities for many-body collisions. The analysis of the conditions, at which the nu- clear cold fusion processes take place, has persuaded us that under real conditions these inhibitions can be cardinally overcome, and that accounts for a high level of nuclear heat/helium-emitting reactions ob- served in the experiments. The chain of interrelated particular chemical, physical and nuclear processes, which determine the process, has been given the con- ventional name the chemonuclear scenario of hydro- gen isotope fusion or the chemofusion2. Here, for brevity sake, depending on the participating ion, we shall call the processes of chemonuclear fusion as 2D-, 3D-, . . . , ND− chemofusion; HD-, H2D-, HND− chemofusion and 2HD-, . . . , NHD−chemofusion. Chapter 1 of the present paper is devoted to a detailed analysis of the processes composing the ND−chemofusion, and to the analysis of their com- pliance with the experiment. A similar analysis rel- ative to the natural hydrogen-metal system is pre- sented in Chapter 2 of the paper. Even a cursory examination of the processes composing the scenario gives grounds to believe that the reactions by the chemofusion scenario will be intense in character. For example, only an increase in the deuteron en- ergy from E = 0.025...0.1 eV (this energy is generally taken in the consideration of cold fusion processes) up to the energy values E = 0.2...2 keV expected from the chemofusion scenario increases the 2D-fusion re- action rate by hundreds of order of magnitude and makes unjustifiable the application of the LENR term to this effect. On the other hand, the cluster nature of 1The information about the Council was published in the press by the ”Pravda” correspondent [19]. 2The ”chemosynthesis” term has been used in ref. [161] to define the effect of neutron emission in the course of chemical reactions involving deuterons. As it follows from the present paper, the ”chemofusion” term refers to a substantially wider range of cold fusion effects. 78 fusion in the chemonuclear scenario owes its existence to radiation-stimulated chemical gas-phase reactions and cannot be described in CMNS terms. This ac- counts for the use here of the ”chemofusion” term and the pioneer term ”cold fusion”. It is of importance to note here that, as it will follow below, the chemonuclear processes do not re- quire going beyond the scope of traditional physics for their explanation. Chapter 1. CHEMONUCLEAR FUSION IN THE DEUTERIUM-METAL SYSTEM 1.1. Three channels of the 2D-fusion reaction in vacuum As known, the vacuum 2D-fusion reactions can be realized with different probabilities in three channels (Table 1): Table 1. 2D-fusion reaction channels Chan− Number of Reaction nel Reaction (particle energy Penetrable barrier, Energy reactions per cross Reaction No. in MeV is given) MeV [20] release, 1W of energy section at yield in MeV released E = 1 keV, channels, Coulimb Nuclear 1012s−1 cm2 % 1 d + d →3 He(0.82) + n(2.45) 0 2.2 3.27 1.9 ∼ 6 · 10−33 [4] ∼ 50 2 d + d → T (1.01)+ + p(3.02) 0.4 2.2 4.03 1.6 ∼ 6 · 10−33 [4] ∼ 50 3 d + d →4 He + γ(23.8) 0.4 0 23.8 0.26 ∼ 6 · 10−40 [4] ∼ 10−5 As it follows from Table 1, in view of the given cross section values, of practical interest today may be only reactions (1) and (2), because the probability for the reaction to occur in channel (3) is six orders of magnitude lower. This is precisely why the thermonuclear physicists all over the world are presently working to carry out in practice reactions (1) and (2), and primarily, still easier realizable processes, i.e., d + T reactions. It is known [4] that the nuclear fusion reaction cross section σ σ = S(E) E P (E) (1) is defined by the product of the ”intrinsic nuclear cross section” σ0 = S(E) E (2) by the quasi-classical probability P (E) of charged particle penetration through the Coulomb barrier V (r) P (E) = exp[−2W (E)] , W (E) = ∫ r2 r1 √ 2µ[V (r)− E]dr/h̄ = = √ 2µ〈V (E)〉|r2 − r1|/h̄ , (3) where S(E) is the ”astrophysical factor”, i.e., the slowly varying particle energy function, which is con- stant S(E) = S0 at a low relative energy of in- teracting particles in the case of nonresonant nu- clear reactions (for nonresonant 2D-fusion reactions S0 ≈ 0.11 MeV ·bn); r2−r1 are the classical ”turning points” in the motion of one of the particles to the field of the other; µ is the reduced mass of interacting particles; 〈V (E)〉 is the mean height of the potential barrier lying above the E level. From (1.3) it follows that the barrier width (r2 − r1), which is a linear coordinate function, affects the barrier penetration more substantially than its mean height 〈V (E)〉 entering into eq. (1.3) as a square root. From (1.2) and (1.3) it follows that the particle energy, the Coulomb barrier width and the astrophys- ical factor value may be the factors that govern the rate of deuterium fusion reaction in vacuum. How- ever, for binary reactions of traditional hot fusion of deuterium, only the first of the mentioned factors is of practical importance. At the present time, the most popular method of suppressing the nuclear Coulomb repulsion forces in thermonuclear investigations consists in heat- ing the matter that comprises deuterium (or deu- terium+tritium) atoms up to a temperature, at which the kinetic energy of the atoms would provide during their collisions the approach of nuclei sufficient for the realization of fusion reactions. The temperature of the deuterium-tritium mixture, required for the prac- tical use of the method, makes ∼ 2 · 108 K(10 keV ), this temperature for deuterium being still higher. The problem of maintaining this temperature for the time sufficient for positive energy release presents enormous technical difficulties, to overcome which, many investigators in different countries of the world are working for many decades. At the same time, as first indicated in ref. [20], the fusion reaction (3) (see Tab. 1) may be expected at certain conditions to hold more promise as an en- ergy source. Collins et al. [20] have paid atten- tion to the fact that the realization of reaction (3) calls for the penetration of a relatively low Coulomb barrier (∼ 0.4 MeV ), whereas the initiation of reac- tion (1) involves the deuteron breakage (∼ 2.2 MeV ), and the realization of reaction (2) calls for the both (∼ 0.4 MeV and 2.2 MeV ). Considering that the 79 tunneling reactions are very much dependent on the height and width of the barrier, there are grounds to expect that at appropriate conditions reaction (3) may become a promising source of ecologically clean nuclear energy. However, on this way enormous dif- ficulties arise. The point is that a low cross-section for the reac- tion in channel (3) is due to the fact that in the output part of the reaction only one particle is involved. As is known, the laws of conservation of energy-momentum for these reactions can be fulfilled simultaneously only under the condition that the lifetime of the excited nucleus exceeds the time required for the nucleus to release its excitation energy. In the 2D-fusion case, the excited virtual compound nucleus 4He* exists for ∼ 10−22 s [21]. Up to the present time, there has been no process proposed that might remove the ex- citation energy of the nucleus within such a short time, and therefore it is customary to assume that there exists the forbiddenness of fundamental nature for the occurrence of reaction (3) (see Tab. 1). However, this conclusion is in contradiction with the well-established results of numerous experimental works, where at studying the processes in deuterium- loaded solid-state matrices those authors observed both the release of substantial amounts of heat and the generation of helium in the amounts correspond- ing to reaction (3) (see Tab. 1) [3, 4, 5]. In the pres- ence of the mentioned forbidding, it is also difficult to explain a well-established neutron-free character of heat-generating processes. The contradiction is re- moved in the chemonuclear fusion scenario considered below. Besides, in the chemonuclear fusion scenario, apart from binary reactions, consideration is given to triple deuterium fusion reactions, for which this problem no longer exists. 1.2. ND-chemonuclear reaction scenario The model of the ND-chemonuclear fusion scenario describes the ND-fusion reaction in the electron core of the < Dn + − heavyatom > quasi-molecule result- ing from the collision of the deuterium cluster, i.e., Dn + ion (n = 2, 3...n), which is accelerated and lined up along the motion direction, with a heavy surface atom of the conducting condensed matter. The key tenets of the model are as follows. 1. The deuterium cluster, i.e., deuterium ion Dn + loaded in the electron core of the quasi-molecule (Sec.5, Ch.1), serves as an elementary cell, where deu- terium nuclear fusion takes place. The fusion occurs as a result of collisions between cluster-composing deuterons as the cluster collides with a heavy atom that forms the quasi-molecule. The collision condi- tions are considered below. 2. In the process of chemonuclear fusion, the Dn + ion is spontaneously produced in ionized deuterium that fills in cracks, pores and other imperfections of the matrix (Sec.4, Ch.1). At that, the deuterons of the clusters, which comprise an odd number of atoms, exhibit mutually opposite directivity of their spins, this being favorable for the occurrence of the fusion reaction (Table 2). In many cases, the Dn + clusters will also show a ”residual” antiparallel ori- entation of deuteron spins, which is favorable for the fusion (Sec.4, Ch.1). Taking this into account, as well as a relative ion abundance (Sec.4, Ch.1), the chemonuclear fusion scenarios are considered here with respect to the D2 + and D3 + clusters, only. 3. With application of the electric field the clus- ters get accelerated and lined up along the direc- tion of the accelerating field (Sec.4, Ch.1) (further on called ”aligned cluster”). The degree of cluster alignment is determined by the accelerating field po- tential gradient and by the factors responsible for the violation of the alignment, viz., collisions with initial gas atoms, thermal oscillation of atoms, etc. 4. Depending on the experimental conditions, the electric field responsible for the cluster acceleration can be either the field applied externally, or the field spontaneously formed in the matrix by the internal electric field under chemonuclear fusion conditions (Sec.3, Ch.1). The mechanism of deuteron acceler- ation is determined by the experimental conditions, i.e., the matrix character, deuterium pressure, etc. 5. The aligned clusters at ”head-on” collisions with a heavy target surface atom penetrate into the electron core of the atom, form a quasi-molecule with the atom (Sec.5, Ch.1), slow down in the core until their full stopping to form concentrations, i.e., col- lisions of atoms forming a part of the cluster, after which they get accelerated in the inverse direction. In this case, the collisional ”geometry” often provides sequential atom collisions of the pattern seen in ”col- liding head-on collisions”, thereby attaining the clos- est possible approach of deuterons. On account of the concepts about the wave nature of the interact- ing particles in the zone of deuteron merging (Sec.11, Ch.1) and a general qualitative character of process consideration in this work, we assume the head-on collision cross-section in our scenario to be σ ∼ λ2, where λ is the wavelength of colliding deuterons. 6. The deuteron fusion process by the chemonuclear scenario proceeds actively only if the energy obtained by the cluster appears sufficient to load the cluster into the electron core of the quasi- molecule at a depth, where the electron superscreen- ing of the reaction zone and the nuclear excitation en- ergy carry-over by internal γ-conversion electrons car- dinally intensify the process of deuterium fusion and other nuclear processes, too. A nonuniform slowing- down of cluster-constituting deuterons in the high- gradient electric field of the quasi-molecule, electron superscreening of the nuclear collision zone (Sec.6, Ch.1), removal of the excitation energy of the com- pound nucleus by conversion electrons, a favorable directivity of deuteron spins, a relatively long (in nu- clear measures) collision time, all these factors pro- vide the deuteron approach and a sharp increase in both the Coulomb barrier transparency and the prob- ability of nuclear fusion (Sec.9-13, Ch.1). 7. If in the process of cluster loading into the 80 electron core of the quasi-molecule the capture of the electron by the cluster and the d+ + e− + d+ quasi- molecule formation take place, the cluster deuteron merging is cardinally facilitated and, as a result, a short-lived entity, namely, an electron-modified vir- tual nucleus (4He∗ + e−), is formed (Sec.10, Ch.1). In synchrony with the process of deuteron merg- ing, the (4He∗ + e−) compound nucleus transfers through virtual γ-quantum emission the nuclear ex- citation energy to the ”captured” electron and the electrons of the electron core of the quasi-molecule 〈D+ n − heavy atom〉 (Sec.7, Ch.1). The lifetime of the electron-modified virtual nucleus (4He∗ + e−) obeys the laws of electromagnetic interaction, and makes it possible to timely entrain a part of excita- tion energy ∆E through emission of the ”captured” electron, and that prevents the nucleus from the de- cay into neutrons and charged particles (Sec.9, Ch.1). The resonance synchronization gives an additional impetus to the process (Sec.10, Ch.1). In this case, the occurrence of reaction (3) (see Tab. 1) with release of heat and helium but without emission of 23.8 MeV γ-quanta becomes possible: ( d+ + e− + d+ ) → ( 4He∗ + e− ) → →4 Heg + Q2 conversion el. (23.8MeV ) . (4) 8. The emission of energetic internal conver- sion electrons involves the participation of acceler- ation mechanisms (Sec.3, Subsections 3.2, 3.3, 3.4), and thereby provides a continuous character of the chemonuclear fusion process. On the other hand, the emission of internal conversion electrons increases both the degree of deuterium ionization and the rise in the process power. In this way a positive feedback between the efficiency of the process and its power is attained. 9. It may be the case that one of the deuterons, caught for whatever reason in the zone of D+n clus- ter collisions (n ≥ 3), takes no part in the process of deuteron merging. But on finding itself under extreme conditions of the zone of merging of other cluster deuterons (e.g., high density of energy release with participation of conversion electrons, high den- sity of interacting particles, etc.) (Sec.15, Ch.1), this deuteron may be involved in the reaction (1.16) re- sponsible for bineutron production: d + ě− →2 n + ν (see eq. (1.16) in Sec.15). The bineutron generation may proceed by the mechanism proposed in ref. [94], viz., inelastic resonance scattering of conversion electrons by the deuteron (Sec.14, Ch.1). It can be expected that under these conditions the endothermal character of the reaction as well as an extremely low intensity of reactions of weak in- teraction forces will be overcome for the most part due to strong interaction reactions and to participa- tion of energetic ě−- (”heavy”) electrons in reaction (1.16) [22, 23]. Nevertheless, under chemonuclear fu- sion conditions, the nuclear fission and transmuta- tion reactions (Sec.16, Ch.1), specified by reaction (1.16), will proceed with an intensity many orders of magnitude lower than that of the reactions respon- sible for heat/ helium generation. This has qualita- tively been confirmed by the experiments, where this ratio was obtained to be 10−10 [5]. The participa- tion of ”penetration” electrons (Sec.9, Ch.1) in this process permits also the occurrence of a rarer process of proton-to-neutron transformation (required energy of ∼ 0.786 MeV ) [22]. The neutron generation reac- tion will take place in the case if in the zone of two- deuteron reaction the proton happens to be instead of the deuteron. 10. The zone of deuterium cluster stopping in the electron cloud of the quasi-molecule is the region, where the chemonuclear fusion-contributing factors reach their maximum level, and therefore, the prob- ability of deuteron fusion gets greatly increased. On the other hand, this zone is at the same time the region, where the wave properties of interacting nu- clei begin to play the decisive role, and where, as a result, the interaction between the microscopic phys- ical systems obeys the characteristic resonance laws, in particular, the principle of universal resonance synchronization (Sec.11, Ch.1). On this basis, it can be assumed that the anomalously high rate of deu- terium fusion with heat/helium release, but without emission of energetic γ-quanta, as observed by many investigators in cold fusion experiments, is the result of overlapping of these two factors, and also, that the resonance synchronization additionally increases the processes responsible for nuclear fusion by the model (Sec.9-11, Ch.1), and thus increases the intensity of the deuterium fusion process up to the level found experimentally [3]. In this case, the reactions will go in a simplified channel (3) (see Tab. 1), without breaking of nuclear couplings, by way of deuteron merging and formation of the electron-modified ex- cited virtual compound nucleus (4He∗ + e−). The excitation energy of the compound nucleus is trans- ferred by conversion electrons to the matrix without 23.8 MeV γ-quantum emission. At that, conditions are automatically provided for reproduction of the fusion process (Sec.3, Ch.1). This fusion scenario is in qualitative agreement with experimental results, and staying in the framework of traditional physics, it explains all three ”riddles” of cold fusion. The problems outlined in this paragraph are discussed in greater detail in the subsequent subsections of Chapter 1 of the work. Some peculiar properties of processes occurrence in the natural hydrogen-metal systems will be considered in Chapter 2 of this work. 1.3. Spontaneous generation of accelerated particles in hydrogen isotope-loaded solid-state matrices The question about impossibility of spontaneous deu- terium nuclear fusion in the solid crystal lattice under equilibrium conditions at room temperature was first raised in 1991 (see ref. [18]). At the same time, as early as in our first cold fusion studies (1989 [16, 17] 81 it was revealed that in the palladium target loaded with deuterium by the cryogenic implantation tech- nique with subsequent holding at room temperature, binary and more complicated reactions of deuterium fusion took place. The level of the revealed reactions exceeded the Jones level by factors of 105 to 106 [2]. This conclusion was drawn by the author from the studies of spectra emitted by the neutron/charged particle-producing target, and also from the level found in the excessive heat generation experiments (Sec.16, Ch. 1). The particles were registered by the well-developed methods of nuclear physics. In accordance with the concepts of traditional nuclear physics, the deuterium fusion at this temperature might be realized with an intensity many (hundreds of) orders of magnitude lower than it was observed in our experiments. On the other hand, the existence of any, a little bit efficient mechanism of deuteron acceleration in our palladium target experiments has seemed incred- ible, because in the solid target the incident deuteron energy mainly goes into electromagnetic interactions, viz., atomic excitation and ionization, the cross- sections of which, σel., are substantially higher than the nuclear cross section σnucl. (σnucl./σel. ∼ 10−8 [4]). This has made us look for such conditions and processes in hydrogen-loaded solid targets, at which the deuterons participating in the reaction could be accelerated beyond the crystal lattice, e.g., in cracks or some other voids. The first model of the process was suggested in our paper [18] in 1991. The charac- teristic feature of our model (as well as of its sub- sequent modifications) lies in the consideration of radiation-stimulated chemical and nuclear processes that take place on the surface and in the volume of matrix voids. This has allowed us to establish the cluster nature of nuclear processes occurring under these conditions, that being, in our opinion, one of the most important factors governing the intensity of cold fusion processes3. However, this model could ex- plain only those experiments, where the reactions of traditional hot fusion of deuterium took place in the matrix, but it failed to explain neutron-free reactions of cold fusion. It should be noted that our work [18] was not the first attempt to propose the mechanism of acceler- ated charged particle generation in hydrogen isotope- loaded solid matrices. The observation of the deu- terium fusion reaction at failure of the LiD crystal was first claimed in 1986 in the paper by V.A. Klyuev, A.G. Lipson et al. [24]. In their interpretation of the phenomenon those authors have put forward the idea of the initiation of electrostatic field-generating charges on the crack periphery. It was assumed that the field could accelerate the electrons and ions arriv- ing at the crack up to an energy of ∼ 1 to 102 keV , and that led, in the authors’ opinion, to the occur- rence of deuteron fusion reaction in the crack volume. Later, the mechanism was also used to ex- plain anomalous nuclear phenomena observed in deuterium-loaded transition metals Pd, Ti, etc. The issue has been considered at length by P.I. Golub- nichiy and V.A. Tsaryov [25]. They understood that the extension of the fusion scenario from ionic crys- tals, as was the case in ref. [24], to the materials showing metallic conduction, which are the transi- tion metal hydrides, calls for additional clarification of some issues. In particular, there is no clarity about the mechanism of appearance of the electric potential difference on the crack periphery. It is also unclear why in this case the electric field of the crack persists for 10−12...10−13 s (the time necessary for deuteron acceleration in the crack [4]), while in the matrix hav- ing metallic conduction this time must be many or- ders of magnitude shorter (∼ 10−15 s). In our model, this contradiction is removed due to taking into ac- count the hydrogen plasma reaction with the metal surface. Our impact fracture experiments on deuterium- loaded palladium and titanium have not corroborated the version about possible occurrence of hot fusion by the acceleration mechanism [26] under these con- ditions. At the same time, the results of the exper- iments were not contradictory to our model of 1991 [18]. The acceleration mechanism in the form pre- sented in ref. [25] (just as our mechanism of 1991 [18]) does not explain the neutron-free character of deuterium fusion reactions in the substance, which was revealed in cold fusion studies. For the period of time since our publication in 1991 [18], we have developed and investigated four modifications of the 1991 model. In accordance with each of them, or their combination, at appropriate conditions in condensed substances, there may oc- cur the processes of both traditional hot fusion and neutron-free fusion of deuterium nuclei [18, 26, 28, 139]. We shall dwell on the models as applied to the deuterium-metal system. 1.3.1. The fractoplasma mechanism of charged particle acceleration in the condensed matter In the process of metal loading with hydrogen, and also, in the redistribution of hydrogen under condi- tions of local variations in temperature, pressure, etc., internal stresses and strains build up in the metal. The main source of stresses stems from variation in the metal volume as it gets loaded with hydrogen. For example, the alpha-beta phase change of the Pd − H alloy at palladium loading to the concen- tration Pd−H0.7 is accompanied by a 10 % increase in the volume. A subsequent saturation of the alloy up to Pd − H0.8 leads to an additional 6 % increase in the volume [3]. In view of a substantial hydro- gen embrittlement of the metal, this change in the volume causes the formation of numerous cracks and fractures. Since hydride phases have crystal lattices 3In the overview of 1994 [92], our model got in this connection the name as ”fractoplasma” model. 82 of different sizes, the stress arises not only within the phases, but also at their interfaces. In this case, the cracks often go along the phase interfaces, and the crack faces represent the outcrops of various crystallographic planes of the crystal. At the same time it is known that at hydrogen adsorp- tion on transition metals such as palladium, titanium, nickel, et al., significant changes take place in the structure of d − f -orbitals of surface atoms and in the electronic structure of the molecules formed (s- and p-electrons), with the result that surface com- plexes are formed [27]. Of great importance for our consideration is the fact that in this case a part of surface complexes appears polarized and acquires a charge. Equally important is also the fact that the formation of complexes is a thermodynamically spec- ified process, and therefore, this surface structure will be reproduced each time after its damage or at new surface formation. To the best of adsorption reversibility, the mech- anism of nuclear reaction initiation under discussion can be activated to a greater or lesser degree through variations of gas pressure over the target, the target temperature, etc. For example, the deuterium des- orption at a short-time local overheating of the ma- trix (e.g., in the thermal peak), followed by cooling, will aid in activating the fractoplasma mechanism of nuclear fusion initiation. Depending on the symmetry of the crystalline field, which includes the metal atom, its interaction with the molecule or hydrogen atom will vary in the character of the resulting coupling and energy. As a consequence of this, the charging rate and even the charge type (positive or negative) of different single crystal faces may be different, and that gives rise to a strong electric field inside the crack. So, if the data of [4] on the crack sizes and the electron density on the crack face are taken as repre- sentative for our case: crack thickness - d = 1µ = 1 · 10−6 m, crack length - l = 10µ = 1 · 10−5 m, ionic density on the crack face: σ = 1 · 1013 ion/cm2 = 1.6 · 10−2 C/m2, then the potential difference on the crack faces will be V1 − V2 = σ · d ε0 · ε = 1.6 · 10−2 · 1 · 10−6 8.8 · 10−12 · l = 2 · 103 V , where ε0 is the electrical constant, ε is the permittiv- ity of the medium. It can be believed that at specific experimental conditions the potential difference may reach still higher values, when it is considered that the surface ion number density may take on the values an order of magnitude higher than the density value used in our calculation. At the same time, it has been demonstrated in ref. [18] that on emission from metal hydrogen (deu- terium) often comprises an appreciable ionic compo- nent (molecular ions, protons, deuterons). The com- ponent may be of natural origin, e.g., the effect of cosmic rays, the product of decay of radioactive im- purities in the matrix material, etc. The penetration of this gas in the electric field of the crack will be ac- companied by production and multiplication of both energetic deuterons and their clusters (Sec. 4, Ch. 1), and also, by deuterium fusion in different channels: - traditional hot fusion reactions in the deuterium volume that fills in the crack; - fusion reactions at random collisions of two deuterons inside the condensed matter; - fusion of deuterium as a part of the D+ n cluster in the electron cloud of quasi-molecule on the sur- face of the crack, pore, etc., of the condensed matter (Sec.9, Ch.1). The probability of fusion process occurrence, in particular, reaction occurrence in channel 3 (see Ta- ble 1), increases substantially as the factors, consid- ered here as favorable for the fusion, come into play. In the process, the character of the fractoplasma mechanism, i.e., fusion initiation due to electric po- tential generation on the opposite crack faces, ini- tially remains prevailing. The fusion process at this stage will be enhanced, first of all, due to increased number of cracks and their increased total area. How- ever, as the matrix gets cracked, the processes deter- mined by generation of conversion electrons in the matrix (Sec.7, Ch.1) become to play a greater role. 1.3.2. Nanostructure mechanism of deuteron acceleration As the matrix becomes cracked and nanoparticles ac- cumulate in it, the fusion process will be contributed more and more by the microfields (which arise around the nanoparticles due to electric charge carry-over by conversion electrons from the particles), and also, by conversion electron-specified increase in the deu- terium cluster density in the pore volume. We now estimate the parameters of the first of the mentioned processes. As shown in Sec. 7, Ch. 1, the majority of conversion electrons that participate in the 2D- and 3D-fusion process in the solid matrix have an energy up to 9 keV . For crude estimation we assume that half of the total nuclear excitation energy is carried over by ∼ 3 keV electrons. Then at each event of 2D- and 3D-fusion, the nanoparticle, within which it took place, emits (23.8 · 106/3 · 103) · 2 ≈ 4 · 103 conversion electrons. As it follows from refs. [29-34], the fusion reactions in deuterium-loaded nanostructure ma- trices grow stronger as the particles are reduced in size, intensively proceeding at particle sizes of ∼ 2 nm (Fig. 1). Then, for the particles, which are sufficiently isolated from the matrix (the time of charge elimination considerably exceeds the time of deuteron cluster acceleration τ ∼ 10−12 s [4]) and which have the mentioned size, each event of 2D-fusion will be accompanied by the appear- ance of the potential, being positive with respect to the matrix U ∼ 3 · 103 V on the particle, and 83 as a consequence, to the continuous deuterium fu- sion process, which needs no external energy input. Fig.1. [185]. Micrograph of nickel nanopowder The above-considered mechanisms of acceleration are efficiently realized at reduced deuterium pressure val- ues, when the process of deuteron/deuteron cluster acceleration, and also, the process of cluster align- ment are not violated by collisions of accelerated particles with residual gas atoms. These conditions are fulfilled, for example, in gas discharge experi- ments, during β-, α-transitions in deuterium-loaded palladium, etc. At the same time, the occurrence of anomalous nuclear reactions at gas pressure of 1 atm and higher is a well-established experimental fact. The acceleration of ions at these conditions up to high energies calls for essentially higher electrical potential gradients. That can be attained at corona discharge conditions typical of electrodes that have the minimum bend radius [35]. However, steady po- tential gradients of ∼ 1 · 108 V/cm can be attained only in solid dielectric matrices. 1.3.3. Microacceleration mechanism of fusion initiation in deuterium-loaded metal-insulator composite matrices As indicated above, the initiation of fusion reactions at high gas pressures calls for high potential gradients attainable in solid dielectric matrices. However, the charged particle acceleration at these conditions, as already stated, is impossible. As it is obvious from Fig. 2, the conditions for deuteron acceleration at a high acceleration rate can be realized in cracks (pores, fractures, etc.) of the insulator adjacent to the metal surface. The conversion electrons, emitted in the ND- fusion event, give rise to high potential gradients in the metal-bordering insulator and, as a conse- quence, to a kind of charged particle microaccel- erators in the cracks piercing the insulator. It is of vital importance that the potential difference results here from charge accumulation in the in- sulator volume surrounding the pore, and will be determined by the integral effect of deceleration of matrix-emitted conversion electrons. It can be be- lieved that at these conditions the accelerated cluster energy will reach by this time a few kiloelectronvolts. Fig.2. Microacceleration mechanism of deuterium fusion initiation in the ”metal-insulator” matrix: D+n - accelerated deuterium cluster, D+ n - energetic conversion electrons It has been shown recently [183] that the excessive heat release in palladium electrolysis experiments increases as the Al2O3 film builds up on the cath- ode surface. A more detailed consideration of the phenomenon can be found in ref. [84]. The re- sults obtained in the experiments can be treated as an evidence for functioning of the microacceleration mechanism. 1.3.4. Quasimolecular mechanism of fusion initiation in deuterium/natural hydrogen-metal systems Sections 9 to 11 in Chapter 1 of this work are concerned with the model of chemonuclear deu- terium fusion. It is demonstrated there that in the processes constituting the chemonuclear deu- terium fusion scenario, the intermediate links such as the quasi-molecule (d+ + e− + d+) formation, the deuteron acceleration inside the quasi-molecule, and the deuteron merging into a virtual electron-modified nucleus (4He∗+e−), are the most important scenario links responsible for the Coulomb barrier overcoming. The mechanisms discussed in 3.2 and 3.3 replicate the process due to the conversion nature of fusion. At a high process power, the failure of the structures enabling the replication precludes the uncontrolled power growth of the fusion process. 1.3.5. Proton (deuteron) acceleration due to collective electron beam-plasma ion interactions As indicated in our work of 1991 [18], experi- ments, where reactions simultaneously take place on both the cathode and the anode, represent a special case. This case may be observed in the experiments with a high-current plasma discharge, when at spark breakdowns, because of a strong col- lective interaction between the electron beam and plasma ions, the ions may acquire a very high energy Ei ∼ (mi/me)∗Ee À Ee−. For example, as early as in the first experiments of this kind by Plyutto [159], protons of energy between 4 and 5 MeV at an applied potential of 200 to 300 keV were obtained. It 84 may be assumed that under certain conditions this mechanism of deuteron acceleration may take place in cold fusion experiments. In conclusion, we note that the mechanisms discussed in this section can generate particles in a wide energy range. At specific experimental conditions, a low interacting particle energy can be compensated by an increasing num- ber of potential reaction sources, as is the case in deuterium-nanopalladium and hydrogen-nanonickel systems (Ch. 2). 1.3.6. Experimental confirmation of the mechanisms of deuterium fusion initiation by the chemonuclear 2D-scenario The above-considered scenarios of deuterium fusion initiation are in satisfactory agreement with many well-established results of cold fusion experiments. By way of example, we discuss the two best known experimental results. 1. The generation of excess heat, helium and the origination of a great number of various discontinu- ities such as cracks, fractures, pores, etc., in cold fusion experiments - these are the three most often observed concurrent phenomena of cold fusion. This statement is well illustrated by the curves of heat release (Fig. 3) and heat-producing material density (Fig. 4) as functions of deuterium content in the ma- terials (taken from the papers of well-known cold fusion researchers McKubre [193] and Storms [3]). Fig.3. Excess heat release curve as a function of the mean D:Pd ratio in the palladium cathode [193] The behavior of the curves in Figs. 3 and 4 appears naturally explicable by the chemonuclear fusion sce- nario. The appearance of cracks and other frac- tures in the matrix (irreversible change in volume on the curve of Fig. 4) gives rise to nuclear fusion reactions by mechanism of Sec. 3, Ch. 1, this being illustrated by the heat release curve in Fig. 3. An intensive heat release increase with a further sat- uration of the matrix with deuterium (Fig. 3) can be due to matrix cracking and an increased contri- bution to the process of conversion electron fusion by the models of 3.2, 3.3 and acceleration mecha- nism of 3.4 (see Sec. 3, Ch. 1). The heat release increase may be also contributed by the buildup of oxide films on the cathode surface [183, 184]. Fig.4. Relationship between deuterium concentra- tions in palladium and specific volume, obtained by physical measurements and calculated from lattice parameters [3] 2. The data in favor of the acceleration mech- anism by the models described in 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4 were obtained in the works by Arata and Zhang [194]. Those authors have shown that the fine palla- dium powder (”palladium black”), on being loaded to gaseous deuterium, often generates excess heat, he- lium and tritium [31, 34, 73, 134, 135]. Those results were reproduced in a variety of works by other au- thors, in particular, in detailed studies of McKubre et al. [72, 76, 193]. In ref.[194] Arata and Zhang have demonstrated a positive effect of nanoparticle loading into ZrO2 matrix on the phenomena un- der discussion. In that work, the palladium powder, milled down to 50Å and dispersed in the ZrO2 ma- trix, on being held in the deuterium atmosphere for 50 hours without any heat supply from the outside, maintained the autoclave temperature at above room temperature. At first, the autoclave temperature rose from 20◦C up to 70◦C. The experiment was demon- strated by Arata in spring of 2008 in the presence of numerous world community representatives. Sub- sequent studies have shown the appearance of an excessive amount of helium in the autoclave during the experiment, which gave evidence for occurrence of nuclear reactions in the cell [176]. It is believed that under those experimental conditions the fusion process by the chemonuclear scenario is enhanced by specific character of the properties of palladium nanoparticles saturated with deuterium up to exces- sively high concentrations, as indicated by Arata in his works. 1.4. H+ n − (D+ n−) cluster generation during hydrogen (deuterium) gas discharge The studies on the properties of hydrogen discharge plasma have shown that the concentration of mole- cular ions H2 + in the discharge column essentially prevails over the concentration of hydrogen atomic ions [36]. 85 The situation is more complicated with the gen- eration of polyatomic ions of hydrogen. The thing is that the neutral molecule H3 is unstable, and there- fore, the usual ionization of the initial neutral mole- cule is inapplicable for production of a triatomic hy- drogen ion. Langevin [37] was the first to discover in 1905 the process of triatomic hydrogen ion production in ion- ized hydrogen. By the present time this process has been well understood [38, 39]. It has been shown that the H2 + ion, produced in the gas discharge, can polarize the H2 molecule at collisions, and this is fre- quently accompanied by molecule dissociation. As a result, the process of H3 + ion generation goes by the reaction H2 + + H2 → H3 + + H + 1.7 eV . (1.5) Since reaction (1.5) is the exothermal process, its cross-section may be many times (10 to 100) higher than the cross-section for neutral molecule collisions [39] and, as a consequence, the H3 + concentration may reach high values. The binding energy of the H+ 3 cluster, 4.18 eV , is close to the binding energy of the H2 molecule, 4.48 eV . The H3 + cluster has a linear structure (H + H + H)+ [40]. With applica- tion of an external electrical field the cluster lines up with the field. Under conditions of mobility measure- ment experiments, the H+ 3 cluster has an enormous charge-exchange cross-section (∼ 1 · 10−14 cm2), that hampers the generation of energetic clusters. As the cluster energy increases, the charge-exchange cross- section decreases, and the process of energetic cluster generation gets intensified. With some correctives, the above-said may be also referred to both deuterium atom and deuterium clus- ters. Isotopic effects at cluster formation in protium- deuterium mixtures have not been found. D3 + generation conditions are well fulfilled at hollow-cathode discharge, where the yield of tri- atomic deuterium atoms can attain 50% and more [41, 42, 43]. Favorable conditions for the process may also arise in the case of pulsed discharge. In ref. [44], a sharp increase in the D3+ yield (up to 70%) was ob- served as the magnetic field H = 700...1500 Oe was imposed on the zone of deuterium ionization by an electron beam at low pressures. In ref. [39] attention was directed to the favorable effect of the processes taking place in the target body on the D3 + yield. The critical characteristics of the nucleus that de- termine its behavior in the interaction with other nu- clei are the spin value and directivity. For deuterons (deuteron-boson) being within the distance of nuclear force action, the 2D-reaction goes intensively only if their spins have antiparallel orientations, because only in this case, the merging of spin-one deuterons and the production of spin-zero helium nucleus will need no additional spin rotation and overcoming of centrifugal barrier. Tab. 2 gives some properties of deuterium ions. Table 2. Physical properties of deuterium ions Ion D+ D2 + D3 + D4 + D5 + Number of electrons in the shell 0 1 2 3 4 Nuclear spin orientation ↑ ↑↑ ↑↓↑ ↑↑↑↑ ↑↓↑↑↓ Sdd Sddd Sdddd Astrophysical 1 · 102 1 · 108 1 · 1011 factor keV · V keV · V keV · V − [45] [45] [45] As it is obvious from Tab. 2, this condition is fulfilled for the D3 + and D5 + ions, for which mu- tual magnetic-moment compensation of ionic electron shells takes place and the nuclei are oriented as a re- sult of interaction of their spins. In view of this, the nuclear reactions with participation of ions having an even number of atoms, D2 + and D4 +, may be ex- pected to be impeded. However, it should be kept in mind that the data of Tab. 2 refer to the steady-state processes. At transient conditions typical of cold fusion, the nuclei will not always have time for spin orientation rearrangement, and therefore, the spins of nuclei participating in the reaction may substantially differ from those given in Tab. 2. It can be expected that, for example, the D2 + ions in the reactions will often have the ”residual” deuteron spin directivity peculiar to the initial molecule D2, because the ion acceleration time at the experimental conditions may appear substantially shorter than the time required for spin reorientation. For example, for the crack 1 to 10 µm wide, the time of deuteron acceleration to energy of up to 1000 eV makes ∼ 10−13...10−12 s [4], while the time it takes for spin reorientation in the deuterium molecule is ∼ 5 · 10−8 s [46]. The spin 86 directivity in the initial D2 molecule can be inferred from Tab. 3, which gives the temperature dependence of orthodeuterium-paradeuterium concentration ra- tio. Table 3. [47]. Temperature dependence of the ortho-para-deuterium ratio Orthodeuterium Paradeuterium T, K content (↑↑), % content (↓↑),% 0 100.0 0.0 70 71.78 28.82 140 66.81 33.19 300 66.65 33.35 Under normal conditions the ortho-para transition in deuterium is a very slow process. The transition is speeded up in the presence of catalytic agents (O2, carbon, etc.), and also, by action of ionizing radia- tions [47]. Thus, the spin orientation of molecular deuterium ions may strongly depend on the experi- mental conditions. That up to now this circumstance has not been taken into account in cold fusion studies, may account for poor reproducibility of the results of investigations in this area. The foregoing shows that the thermodynamic conditioning of deuterium cluster formation with reaction-favorable spin orientation of constituting deuterons is, in our opinion, one of the strong features of our present cluster model of fusion. In this case, as indicated above, the main contribution to the fusion reaction comes from the D2 + and D3 + ions because of their essentially higher concentration as compared to the D5 + cluster (the rate constant k of D3 + and D5 + ion production in molecular gases at room tem- perature is equal to 30 · 10−30 and 45 · 10−32 cm6/s, respectively [48]). However, it is not improbable that there may be the conditions when the D5+ clusters will play a decisive role by reason of extremely high values of astrophysical factor in this case. The cluster nature of deuterium fusion in con- densed substances is in satisfactory agreement with the experiment. 1.5. The role of quasi-molecular states in chemonuclear reaction scenarios It is convenient to consider the processes taking place during deuterium cluster collision with a surface heavy atom of the target in the quasi-molecule rep- resentation. The quasi-molecule model is applicable when the so-called adiabatic conditions are fulfilled (as in our case) for the velocities ( Vl U )2 ¿ 1 , (1.6) where V1 is the relative velocity of colliding atoms, U is the orbital velocity of the electron. The model assumes that during collisions the electrons may adi- abatically (without heat exchange with the environ- ment) change their states and form (at each suffi- ciently close distance R(t) between scattering Z1 and Z2 nuclei) quasi-molecular orbits in the two-center Coulomb field of two nuclei Z1 and Z2. In the lim- iting case R → 0, the quasi-molecular states go over into the states of quasiatom with the effective atomic number Z = Z1 + Z2 [49]. In our case, the situation is much more complicated by virtue of the fact that at the first stage of the process, a complex formation, i.e., the deuterium cluster lined up along the direc- tion of motion, which continuously changes its dimen- sions as it penetrates the electron cloud of the quasi- molecule, serves as one of the quasi-molecule cen- ters. At the second stage, still more complicated and less understood processes take place. These are the deuteron merging, the discharge of energy of the ex- cited compound nucleus by internal conversion elec- trons and, as a consequence, the X-ray emission, etc. (Sec. 7-11, Ch. 1). The question of the role of quasi- molecular states in the chemonuclear fusion scenario is also discussed in Sec. 9, 10, Ch.1 and Sec. 2, Ch. 2, where it is demonstrated that the quasi-molecules (d+ + e− + d+) and (p+ + e− + d+) are most im- portant participants of the fusion process by DD− and HD− cold fusion scenarios, respectively. 1.6. Electronic screening of reacting deuterium nuclei in condensed media If the 2D-fusion reaction takes place in a conduct- ing condensed medium, then deuterons get enveloped in conduction electrons of the medium, screened from each other by negative charge of the electrons with the result that the penetrability of the nuclear Coulomb barrier increases and the fusion reaction cross section increases, too [50]. The point of intrigue here is that the increase in the fusion reaction, attained experimentally, is many orders of magnitude greater than its theoretical value. The screening potential value, established in the ex- periment (600...800V ), is higher by a factor of 2 or more than the maximum potential value (150...200 V ) found by theory. The mechanism of formation of such a high screening potential is yet to be explained. As indicated by Kasagi [56], the mechanism cannot be explained by a high electron density only, ”because in this case a similar effect would be also observed at deuteron collisions with the host metal nuclei, so far unobserved by anybody”4. Today, the very exis- tence of such a great screening effect at deuteron en- ergy close to zero cannot be evidently considered as sufficiently confirmed, because up to now the lowest experimentally testable energy of deuterons makes about 200 eV . The extrapolation of obtained results to the region of interacting particle energy, which is four orders of magnitude lower, calls for a strong sub- stantiation. This has been indicated, in particular, in ref.[58]. 4This statement is not indisputable, as in 1938 Strain [59] detected the p − N reaction threshold to be ∼ 3 MeV , i.e., essentially lower as compared with the common literature value ∼ 4.6 MeV . 87 The electron screening effect in the fusion reac- tion in palladium at deuteron energy of about 1 keV has been considered by Luo et al. [60]. Those au- thors assume that the difference between experimen- tal and calculated electron screening potential values is due to a generally neglected contribution to screen- ing from the electrons of atomic inner electron shells, whereas at deuteron energy of ∼ 1 keV this contri- bution can make up a high percentage of the total screening effect. In that work, it has been shown that at gas discharge conditions the ∼ 1 keV deuteron can approach to the palladium nucleus at a distance of 0.1?. By calculations of the authors [60], the 2D- fusion reaction cross-section at their conditions in- creases by 5 orders of magnitude (from 6 ·10−33 cm−2 to 6 · 10−28 cm−2) as compared with its value found at traditional thermonuclear fusion conditions. This cross-section value is evidently most probable for bi- nary (”random”) deuteron fusion reactions at cold fusion conditions. The reactions of this intensity can account for the results of Jones’s experiments [2]. However, since the electron screening does not change the probability of deuteron fusion to occur in differ- ent channels (see Table 1), then even ”superscreen- ing” by electrons of reacting nuclei can’t explain the neutron-free character and other peculiarities of the cold fusion reaction. The electron screening of reacting nuclei occu- pies a prominent place in the chemonuclear fusion scenario, too. However, in our scenario the above- considered results may have another treatment. For example, the 2- or 3-fold excess of experimental screening potential values over the ones found by the- ory may be considered as an evidence for functioning of acceleration mechanisms (Sec. 3, Ch. 1) at exper- imental conditions of refs. [51-57]). The difference between the experimental and theoretical potential values is in good agreement with this supposition. The results can be considered as experimental vali- dation of our model. 1.7. Conversion electron emission in chemonuclear fusion scenarios Conversion electron emission and X-ray flashing dur- ing deuterium fusion in a condensed matter are the links of one and the same phenomenon and must pro- ceed in synchronism with equal intensities (in the number of events). However, while X-ray radiation is the phenomenon, which is well-established in cold fusion experiments (Sec.8, Ch.1) and is being investi- gated over many years, few reliable data can be found in the literature on the emission at these conditions of fast electrons, which might be considered as con- version electrons accompanying the X-ray radiation. We shall discuss this issue in greater detail. As it follows from the works cited here, the deu- terium fusion in a condensed substance is realized with participation of conversion electrons, widely ranging in energy. However, most of the conver- sion electrons belong to one of the two groups: the first group includes the electrons, which are ejected from the quasi-molecule electron core orbital near- est to the reaction zone, and have an energy up to 9 keV (”standard” γ-conversion); and the second, rel- atively small, group that includes the electrons re- sulting from the ”penetration” effect and having an energy up to a few megaelectronvolts (”anomalous” γ-conversion) (Sec. 9, Ch. 1). Let us analyze for what reasons the conversion electrons of the mentioned parameters could remain unnoticed in cold fusion experiments. To answer the question, it is necessary, first of all, to note that the assumption of the decisive role of internal γ-conversion electrons in the process of deu- terium fusion in a condensed substance, as made in our scenario, is introduced here for the first time. Generally, the assumption of the existence of fast electrons under these conditions is considered as un- justified and, hence, is neglected. This refers pri- marily to high energy electrons, which belong by our classification to the second group. As an example, when the authors precluded a possible participation of fast conversion electrons in the fusion process, let us consider a well-conducted and tool-equipped work carried out by a group of well-known authors: Lip- son, Roussetski, Karabut, Miley [54]. In their ex- periments with high-current pulsed discharge in the Ti−D2 system they have revealed the occurrence of high-intensity 2D- and 3D-fusion reactions accompa- nied by emission of anomalously strong ionizing ra- diation. As the authors note, the radiation might be due to both a flux of soft X-rays (E = 1.2...1.5 keV ), and equally, to the electron flux of energy ranging from a few tens to a few hundreds of kiloelectron- volts. Taking into account a high experimental level of the work [54], those results can be treated as a direct evidence for deuterium fusion realization by our scenario involving the participation of conversion electrons. However, the authors of ref. [54] draw another conclusion. Their line of reasoning is that ”. . . since it is difficult to assume the existence of elec- trons of these energies under gas discharge conditions at acceleration voltage of 1.5 to 2.5 keV , it remains to recognize soft X-rays responsible for the observed effects”. A similar approach to the treatment of the experimental results can be seen in a number of other papers [106, 123, 158]. As a second example of that approach, we con- sider the work [106], which reports the results of long- term investigations by Karabut’s group. Their exper- iments with a high-current gas discharge in deuterium have shown the emission of fast electrons. The elec- tron flux power attained 10 to 12W . The phenom- enon was reliably reproduced in many experiments. In Karabut’c opinion, the emission of fast electrons in the experiments was a secondary process specified by the interaction of X-ray radiation with a solid. Without casting any doubt on the possibility of fast electron generation in this way, we note that under close examination of the data presented in ref. [106] one may come to another conclusion. The results can 88 be treated as an evidence that the observed ionizing radiation presents a flux of energetic (a few hundreds of keV and higher) conversion electrons, and also, of X-ray radiation, bremsstrahlung and beta-decay ra- diation. In this case, it appears possible to explain a high electron current power, observed in [106], which otherwise is difficult to explain by the occurrence of weak secondary processes in the matrix. As a sec- ondary process of the same nature as that described in ref. [106], the author explains also the results of his earlier work, where at glow discharge in deuterium a flux of fast electrons was reliably registered beyond the experimental chamber [158]. Fig. 5,a, taken from ref. [158], shows the schematic of the experiment. Fig.5. [158]. (a) Experimental layout; b) X-ray film exposed in the experiment of ref. [158] The right-hand side of Fig. 5 shows the picture illustrating the radiative effect on the X-ray film ex- posed at different experimental conditions. It is easily seen that the X-ray film could be lit up in this way on condition that during the discharge the conversion electrons of energies between 6.5 and 7 MeV were generated. Having passed through a steel chamber wall, these electrons remain yet sufficiently energetic (∼ 0.5...1 MeV ), and therefore relatively weakly in- teract with both the chamber wall and the emulsion layer of the X-ray film. This is demonstrated by the upper half of the picture in Fig. 5,b [158]. However, on coming to lead, the electrons lose their energy as early as at a depth of about 0.5 mm. This is ac- companied by intense secondary-electron and X-ray radiations, just as demonstrated by the light mark in the bottom part of the film shown in Fig. 5,b [158]. To some extent, the process can also be con- tributed by γ-quanta that leave the excited helium nucleus after its predischarging by the ”captured” electron (Sec. 9, Ch. 1). This conclusion is confirmed by the results of the recently published article by Storms and Scanlan [187] ”Nature of energetic ra- diation emitted from a metal exposed to H2”. The residual gamma-activity found in the experiment was attributed by the authors to potassium activation un- der the action of the initial energetic photon radia- tion. The latter can take place only in the case if γ- quanta of energy E ≥ 10.1 MeV (41K γ − n-reaction threshold) are present as part of the primary radia- tion [187]. On the whole, the results of ref. [187], just as the results of the above-discussed work [158], testify in favor of the version about the decisive role of γ-conversion in the chemonuclear scenario. As regards the reasons, for which the 1st-group electrons (E < 10 keV ) are not detected in cold fu- sion experiments, here we note that on getting ac- quainted with the literature on the issue we found that in none of the experiments performed by the present time the electrons of energy below 10 keV could be registered, because in all the experiments the registering instruments were coated with protec- tive films that absorbed electrons of the mentioned energies. And this is the answer to the third cold fusion ”riddle”, viz., in all the cold fusion studies done by now the overwhelming majority of the conversion electrons responsible for fusion energy removal could not be registered, while the thermal effect of the fu- sion reaction was registered with reasonable reliabil- ity. Among the experimental studies, in which the ob- servation of fast electron emission was claimed, we mention the following. The emission of 0.8±0.1 MeV electrons during gas discharge in deuterium was regis- tered in work [10]. However, in the subsequent study by the same authors, where a magnet was applied for electron identification, the electron emission was not detected [11]. In view of the aforesaid, this is quite an expected result, because in [11] the electrons of en- ergy E < 9 keV were absorbed by the beryllium film. So, it may be thought that the experiments of refs. [10, 11] confirm the validity of our fusion scenario. The authors of ref.[63] investigated the electron emission from a palladium target exposed to gas dis- charge in deuterium. A flux of energetic electrons of intensity between 10−6 and 10−8 A was observed for a few minutes after the discharge was switched off. The electron energy was not measured in this case. In the author’s opinion, it is the beta-decay of excited nuclei that serves as an electron source. It may be thought that in this case, too, the registered electron flux is much contributed by conversion electrons. Fig. 6 shows our experimental data from the study on the emission of negatively charged par- ticles from the palladium cathode subjected to ir- 89 radiation in the pulsed gas discharge in deuterium [174]. The irradiation parameters were as follows: Imax ∼ 300 mA, Umax ∼ 1100 V , filling factor - 40%, deuterium pressure - 10 to 12 mmHg, cath- ode thickness - 0.2 mm, irradiation area ∼ 0.7 cm2. Fig.6. Negative particle emission from the pal- ladium cathode surface after irradiation in the deuterium discharge The first irradiation of the cathode lasted for about 3 hours (curve 1, Fig.6) with flashing for 10 min. After that, the cathode irradiation was repeated several times for t ∼ 3 min, then de-excitation for ∼ 10 min followed in each case. The highest recorded current value was observed after the first exposure. It was measured to be 3 · 10−9 A, whereas after the 2nd and 3rd expo- sures the current value dropped down to 2.4 · 10−9 A. Within 10 to 15 minutes, the current for all three ex- posures dropped down to 2 · 10−10 A. As it can be seen from Fig.6, the first exposure is characterized by considerable current spikes. It can be believed that in this experiment, just as in experiment [53], along with the beta-decay, a sub- stantial contribution to the registered flux of negative particles comes from conversion electrons. This is in- dicated, in particular, by the fact that the negative particle emission sharply increases with deuterium pumping. So, the currently available experimental data on the conversion electron emission in cold fusion exper- iments are in qualitative agreement with our scenario concepts about the decisive role of γ-conversion elec- trons in the realization of deuterium fusion in the deuterium-metal system. However, this conclusion calls for further investigations. 1.8. X-ray emission in chemonuclear fusion scenarios In accordance with the chemonuclear deuterium fu- sion scenario, along with energetic electron emission discussed in the preceding section, the X-ray emission is another basic mechanism of nuclear de-energization in cold fusion experiments. We list here the require- ments to be met, in our opinion, for the process of X-ray emission in cold fusion experiments. 1. Deuterium reactions are the primary cause of nuclear process initiation in a condensed substance. Therefore, the X-ray emission of this type may take place only in the case when the reaction gas com- prises deuterium, and when the process of deuterium fusion proceeds by our scenario. 2. The de-excitation of the 4He∗ compound nu- cleus is realized mainly by transfer of the excitation energy to the nearest electron from the electron core of the quasi-molecule. The occupation of the vacancy arising in this case by the electron is accompanied by X-ray radiation, which is just observed in cold fusion experiments. It suggests that the radiation energy should be, first of all, determined by the depth of cluster penetration to the electron core of the quasi- molecule, i.e., eventually, by the initial cluster energy, and should not depend strongly on the type of the heavy atom incorporated into the quasi-molecule. 3. Depending on the experimental conditions, the cluster energy may be specified by various factors (Sec.3, Ch.1). In case of Fleischman-Pons-type ex- periments [1], the cluster energy is assigned by in- trinsic acceleration factors of the medium. In gas discharge experiments the energy is determined by si- multaneous action of intrinsic acceleration factors of the medium and the factors specified by the cathode surface processes. The contribution of each factor is determined by the experimental conditions. 4. Under the conditions of our scenario, apart from the above-mentioned processes, the X-ray ra- diation can be caused by other, weaker processes. For example, when passing through the matrix, the fast conversion electrons participating in the above- considered processes, can initiate characteristic ra- diation and bremsstrahlung. In the case, when the chemonuclear scenario is accompanied by nuclear re- actions, the picture is supplemented with the radia- tion stemming from these reactions, etc. 5. The process of nuclear reaction initiation in a condensed matter by our scenario is the process con- nected with the occurrence of the state in the crys- tal lattice of the matter, far from being equilibrium, e.g., high concentration and nonuniform distribution of deuterium, production of macro- and microdefects, internal stress generation, etc. Termination of ex- ternal action in this case cannot stop at once the processes of deuterium fusion and X-ray generation. The nonequilibrium state relaxation will continue for some time to create the conditions for functioning of particle acceleration and deuterium fusion initiation mechanisms, and thereby, will provide the aftereffect. It can be demonstrated that the above-given re- quirements are in satisfactory agreement with the ex- perimental cold-fusion data. For example, the state- ment that an intense X-ray emission of the type un- der consideration should take place only in the ex- periments involving deuterium, has been confirmed by numerous studies, and nowadays, seems to be sup- ported by the majority of the cold fusion investigators [3]. 90 Table 4. [106]. Characterization of X-ray radiation in experiments with high-current gas discharge in deuterium Cathode material Al Sc T i Ni Mo Pd Ta Re Pt Pb Discharge voltage, V 1650 1540 1730 1650 1420 1650 1600 1520 1650 1610 Discharge current, mA 130 130 170 150 210 138 138 125 138 138 X-ray energy during discharge, 1.54 1.26 1.45 1.91 1.48 1.98 1.62 1.36 1.47 1.36 keV X-ray energy after discharge 1.68 1.5 1.46 1.96 1.33 1.71 1.62 1.38 1.75 1.45 termination, keV There are numerous evidences, which confirm that the X-ray energy is mainly determined by the energy of the cluster lined up along the direction of motion, and is little dependent on the type of the heavy atom being part of the quasimolecule. A convincing evi- dence for the fact is presented in Table 4 taken from Karabut’s team work [106]. As it follows from Table 4, the X-ray energy is close to the potential difference across the discharge, and is little dependent on the cathode material. The fact of functioning of the above-mentioned two fac- tors, responsible for particle acceleration, in the cath- ode material at cold fusion conditions can be believed as a well-established fact, too. For example, in a well-conducted experiment by Miley et al. [123], the X-ray radiation of energy 600 eV and higher (internal factor) was reliably registered in deuterium discharge at an accelerating voltage of 300 V (external acceler- ation factor). In some cases (Pd, Ni, etc.), the X-ray energy also exceeds the discharge voltage (see Table 4 [106]). In many experiments, the X-ray energy attained a few tens/hundreds of kiloelectronvolts [3]. As in- dicated in item 4, this radiation may be due to sec- ondary processes such as nuclear reaction occurrence in the matrix and interaction of energetic conversion electrons with the matrix. Lastly, the aftereffect mentioned in item 5, was observed by many investigators on different ”anom- alous” cold fusion phenomena (excess heat; genera- tion of charged particles, gamma-quanta and X-rays [3]) and was even eloquently called ”Life after death” [122]). Among the first studies testifying to the exis- tence of the aftereffect we mention our experiments of 1989 [16, 17], where the fusion reactions were demonstrated to take place after discharge termina- tion in palladium and titanium targets, loaded with deuterium at cryogenic implantation. The afteref- fect at registration of X-rays and gamma-radiation was observed in works [61, 123]. It has been shown in ref. [123] that spontaneous deuterium release at room temperature from the deuterium-loaded palla- dium cathode under electrolysis is accompanied by X-ray emission of the same energy as that in the gas discharge but with intensity 10 to 11 orders of mag- nitude lower than in the gas-discharge experiment. The examples considered here provide, in our opinion, a reliable testimony that an intense X-ray emission in the cold fusion experiments is caused, before all, by the occurrence of nuclear reactions by the chemonuclear fusion scenario. 1.9. Deuterium fusion in the D+ 2 -cluster in the quasi-molecule electron core (2D-chemonuclear fusion) Today, the production of ”nuclear ash”, i.e., helium, and the accompanying heat release without gamma- ray radiation of energies typical of thermonuclear fusion (23.8 MeV ), or any other radiation, which could provide the transfer of 4He∗ nuclear excitation energy to the matrix, is considered as one of the most well-established and ”enigmatic” phenomena of cold fusion. At an early stage of the studies aimed to solve this ”enigma”, Schwinger [64] and Preparata [65] have proposed the mechanism of photon-phonon energy transfer from the excited nucleus to the crys- tal lattice of the matrix. However, in a later-dated paper [21] it was shown that the time it takes for de-energization of the 4He∗ nucleus by the photon- phonon mechanism without catastrophic destruction of the matrix makes about 10−13 s, this being 9 or- ders of magnitude longer than the lifetime of the compound nucleus (∼ 10−22 s). By the present-day concepts, the deuterium fusion in the deuterium- loaded conducting matrix takes place under the con- ditions when the virtual compound nucleus 4He∗ is away from the nuclei, atoms and the matrix lattice at a distance greater than 10−8 cm. In this case, the 91 nuclear excitation energy transfer (as well as of any other signal transfer) cannot occur within the time less than ∆t = 1 · 10−8/3 · 1010 = 3 · 10−19 s. And this interval is much longer than the lifetime of the excited 4He∗ nucleus (∼ 10−22 s). As a result, the probability of 4He∗ decay with emission of [n]/[T ]/[γ] remains practically constant as 0.5/0.5/10−7 for Ek ranging from 0 to 100 keV (Ek is the relative kinetic energy of deuterons) [21]. The probability of the re- action yield in the channels might be changed, should it appear possible during the lifetime of the excited state of the helium nucleus to reduce its energy to the level when the nuclear decay with emission of charged particles becomes impossible [21]. For exam- ple, in accord with the decay scheme, Fig. 7 [121], the decrease in the excitation energy of helium down to E < 20.5 MeV forbids the nuclear decay with neu- tron emission, and a further decrease in the excitation energy down to E < 19.8 MeV results in that the helium nucleus in its ground state becomes the final product of nuclear decay (after full de-energization). Fig.7. [121]. Decay channels of the 2D-fusion reaction However, as it can be seen from the above estimates, the photon-phonon mechanism cannot provide the necessary discharge rate of the excited helium nu- cleus. In our fusion scenario, the nuclear energy is carried away by conversion electrons. An essentially higher penetrating power of electrons, as compared with the photon penetrability, enables the electrons to de-excite the nucleus without any catastrophic failure of the matrix within a substantially shorter time. The idea of internal γ-conversion electron par- ticipation in the 2D-fusion reactions in condensed materials was first put forward by the authors of ref. [20] in 1990. In their opinion, anomalies in the behavior of fusion reactions in condensed materials are determined by specific properties of deuteron en- vironment, and, in the first place, by anomalously high density of atomic electrons and conduction elec- trons at the deuteron location site. By contrast, in the acceleration experiments, all electrons nearest to the reacting deuterons will be ionized or excited to high atomic or molecular levels, so that the elec- tron density in the nuclear region will be very low in comparison with the 1s-electron density. On this ba- sis, the authors have assumed the occurrence of the following electron-conversion reactions in condensed materials: d + d + e− →4 He (ground state) + e− (E = 23.84 MeV ) , (1.7) d + d + e− →4 He∗ (20.1 MeV level) + e− (E = 3.7 MeV ) . (1.8) Due to the fact that the nuclear excitation level of He (20.1 MeV) is below the neutron-producing reaction threshold (Fig. 7), the authors of [20] considered the reaction 4He∗ (20.1 MeV level) → t(E = 0.08 MeV ) + p (E = 0.23 MeV ) (1.9) as a secondary reaction. At that, it was assumed that the processes of tun- neling and electron conversion ran concurrently. On the assumption that the electron conversion proba- bility depends on the imparted energy as ∆E−5/2, the probabilities of reactions (1.7) and (1.8) were cal- culated to be 0.97% and 99.03%, respectively. This version of fusion mechanism was not corroborated by subsequent experiments, as they revealed no emission of conversion electrons expected in reactions (1.7) and (1.8). However, as it will be shown below, it does not mean that the idea of occurrence of electron- conversion reactions in a condensed material is er- roneous as a whole. In ref. [129], consideration has been given to the mechanism of solid-state internal conversion as applied to the pd-fusion reaction. The participation of electron conversion was shown to ex- ceed the reaction rate by more than 3 orders of mag- nitude. The conversion efficiency with participation of heavy particles was significantly lower. The solid body was considered in [129] only as a high-density substance, and its crystalline structure was not taken into account. In paper [130] by the same authors, the effect of the matrix lattice on the process was given consideration. It was shown that in this case the reaction intensity could increase to a still greater degree. For example, for the reaction p + d →3 He (5 keV ) + γ(5.4 MeV ) in the palladium lattice the estimated coefficient of internal γ- conversion with electron participation increases by a factor of ∼ 3 · 1010 as compared with the coeffi- cient estimated for the isolated deuterium atom. The authors of the cited two works note that ”whenever fusion reactions take place in the solid-state environ- ment, they are for sure accompanied by the process of solid-state internal conversion”. However, turning to the 2D fusion reaction, it should be recalled that by now there is no way found to change the probability of decay of the excited 4He∗ nucleus in different channels if the lifetime of the ex- cited nucleus is equal to 10−22 s [21]. This is the main 92 reason why none of the proposed up to now processes is capable of solving the secret of cold fusion. Let us see how the probability of helium nuclear decay in the channels (see Table 1) will change in the case when deuterium fusion is realized by our scenario with par- ticipation of internal γ-conversion electrons. First we consider the conditions of conversion electron gener- ation in cold fusion experiments. As is known, the level density of the atomic nu- cleus grows with an increase in the excitation energy [7]. Concurrently, the level width also sharply in- creases. This is due to the fact that the main role in the nucleon separation from the nucleus belongs to nuclear forces, i.e., strong interactions. The strong- interaction decay widths are great, and the nuclear spectrum levels in the excitation energy region Eexc. > Enucl. separation , (1.10) as is the case with the 4He∗ nucleus, overlap. The nuclear spectra become continuous. The energy spec- trum continuity of the excited nucleus, and hence, the energy spectrum continuity of conversion electrons, strongly hampers the detection and investigation of conversion electrons. In our opinion, this is one of the main reasons why the electron conversion under cold fusion conditions still remains unexplored up to now. Based on general considerations, we estimate the energy that can be acquired by the conversion elec- tron under typical experimental conditions of gas dis- charge in deuterium [60]. As is customary to consider, in the process of internal γ-conversion the nucleus emits a virtual γ-quantum, which is immediately ab- sorbed by the atomic shell electron. This property allows us, using the uncertainty relation [66] ∆E ·∆t ≈ h̄ , (1.11) to estimate the maximum energy that may be ac- quired by the conversion electron under gas discharge conditions. For estimation we shall use the data of Luo et al. [60]. Based on those data it can be ex- pected that the ”aligned” D+ 2 - cluster of initial en- ergy 1 keV , penetrates the electron core of palladium to a depth, where the electron density makes 60 to 90 electrons per Å 3 . In this case, the distance between the cluster, where a virtual 4He∗ nucleus arises, and the nearest shell electrons of the quasimolecule elec- tron core will make ∼ 2.4·10−9 cm. Then the lifetime of the virtual γ-quantum will be ∆t ≈ 2.4 · 10−9/3 · 1010 ≈ 8 · 10−20 s (1.12) and the maximum energy transferred to the electron (”standard” γ-conversion) will come to ∆E ≈ h̄/∆t ≈ 1.05∆10−27/8∆10−20 ≈ 1.3 · 10−8 erg ≈ 9 keV . (1.13) It is evident that the conversion process having these parameters cannot provide a timely energy de- excitation of the 4He∗ nucleus, and therefore, influ- ence the probability of excited nucleus decay in differ- ent channels if the nuclear lifetime is ∼ 1·10−22 s [21]. However, the situation may radically change if the en- ergy discharge of the helium nucleus proceeds by the mechanism of anomalous conversion with ”penetra- tion” electron participation, because the lifetime of the excited nucleus is here determined by the time of penetration electron emission by the nucleus, i.e., by electromagnetic interaction forces, and will sub- stantially exceed the lifetime of the excited nucleus in vacuum. Let us consider this issue in more detail. The anomalous conversion process realized by the ”penetration” electrons is the process when the elec- tron penetrates the nucleus more deeply than the nu- cleon, with which the electron interacts during con- version at the moment of nuclear transition (”the penetration effect”). The essential role of the effect in the case of strongly hindered γ-transitions was first indicated in 1956 by Church and Wenser [67]. They also analyzed the experimental results relating to the effect. Later on, a similar analysis of exper- iments was carried out by many authors; the phe- nomenon gained wide recognition; tables listing the known cases of anomalies in the electron γ-conversion coefficient were compiled [68]. Let us see how the ideas of the dynamics of anomalous conversion process of penetration in a condensed matter match the concepts of the chemonuclear fusion scenario. It is clear that any consideration of this sort without thorough investiga- tion into the mechanism of anomalous γ-conversion as applied to such an ”exotic” object as the quasi- molecule is (recall that the latter results from the collision of the deuterium cluster lined up along the direction of motion with a heavy surface atom of the matrix) may have only a known hypothetical char- acter. However, the correspondence of the findings of this consideration to well-established experimental data will provide, in our opinion, serious grounds for intensive study of the phenomenon. As experimental results we take the data pre- sented in Sec. 7, Ch. 1, of the present paper. It has been shown there that the process of deuterium fusion in a condensed matter in a pulsed gas discharge [158] is accompanied by emission of conversion electrons of energies ranging between 6.5 and 7 MeV (”anom- alous γ-conversion”). It was shown above that in a typical gas-discharge experiment the standard γ- conversion electrons have the energy up to 9 keV . Our estimated parameters of conversion processes that accompany the electron emission of the men- tioned energies are presented in Tab. 5. 93 Table 5. Parameters of conversion processes at de-energization of the excited helium nucleus in the Pd matrix Conversion electron Estimated time of Excited nucleus- energy (maximum), MeV the process, s electron spacing, cm 6.5...7 ≤ 1.05 · 10−22 ≤ 3.23 · 10−12 0.09 ≤ 8 · 10−20 ≤ 2.4 · 10−9 The data of Table 5 encourage us to draw the fol- lowing conclusions important for understanding the chemonuclear fusion process: 1. In the course of deuterium chemonuclear fu- sion, along with a standard conversion process, when the nuclear excitation energy is transferred to the electron of the nearest-to-the-reaction-zone electron core orbital of the quasi-molecule, there also occur anomalous processes of nuclear energy conversion by the ”penetration” electrons. In this case, the de- energization of the nucleus is the responsibility of the electron ”captured” in the virtual compound nucleus during deuteron approach as the cluster stops at its collision with a heavy atom. We denote this electron-modified virtual com- pound nucleus by (4He∗ + e−). 2. At gas-discharge experimental conditions, the compound nucleus (4He∗ + e−) measures R ≤ 3.23 · 10−12 cm. 5 3. The compound nucleus (4He∗ + e−) obeys the laws of electromagnetic interactions, and therefore, its lifetime cannot be less than ∼ 10−20 s. Taking into consideration the ”penetration ef- fect”, we offer a hypothetical picture of the processes that may take place at collision of the aligned deu- terium cluster D+ 2 with a heavy surface atom of the target. Above all we note that along with a heavy atom that forms a part of the quasi-molecule, its sec- ond component, i.e., the D+ 2 -cluster compressed in the quasi-molecule electron cloud, presents the for- mation, which is radically different from both the D2 molecule and the helium atom. In the deuterium clus- ter region, the electron density of the electron cloud, which forms during drawing together of ”atomic” cen- ters of the quasi-molecule, is significantly higher than that observed in the electron core of the deuterium molecule or the helium atom. The specific charac- ter of deuteron motion in the ”aligned cluster” in the cluster-heavy atom collision zone, the anomalously high density of electrons in this zone, and also, the antiparallel directivity of deuteron spins, all these fac- tors contribute to the realization of the electron cap- ture by the cluster and the formation of the electron- modified deuterium quasi-molecule, i.e., short-lived linear entity (d++e−+d+) [128, 178] (Sec. 10, Ch. 1). The characteristic property of the entity consists in binding of positively charged deuterons by the cap- tured electron and, concurrently, in suppression of mutual Coulomb repulsion of deuterons by the same electron. This drastically increases the probability of deuteron drawing together in the cluster, and, as a result, initiates deuteron fusion and formation of the transient state, viz., a short-lived electron-modified virtual compound nucleus (4He∗+e−). In synchrony with the process of deuteron merging, the compound nucleus (4He∗+e−) transfers through virtual gamma- quantum emission the nuclear excitation energy to the ”captured” electron and to the electrons of quasi- molecule electron core, and goes to its ground state. In such a manner, the ”captured” electron plays here the role of the ”penetration” electron. The lifetime of the virtual nucleus (4He∗ + e−), modified by the ”captured” electron, is determined by the time of ”captured” electron emission (electro- magnetic interaction forces) ≥ 10−18...10−20 s., and its de-energization is realized due to the conversion processes considered in Tab. 5. A substantial portion of the helium excitation energy (∼ 6.5...7 MeV ) is carried over by the ”captured” electron. In this case, the excited nucleus loses its ability to decay with emission of charged particles and neutrons (Fig. 5), and the excitation energy can now be relieved with participation of energetic γ-quanta. However, the major portion of nuclear excitation energy in the processes will be taken away by electrons of the quasi- molecule electron core by energy portions of up to 9 keV . In this case, the fusion reaction is realized in the relieved channel (3), without nuclear bond break- ing (Tab. 1, Ch. 1). According to ref. [20], the reac- tions in channels (1) and (2) proceed at these condi- tions with very low intensity, this being in agreement with an experimentally established neutron-free char- acter of cold fusion reactions. So, the fusion reactions in the 2D chemonuclear scenario take on the form (d+ + e− + d+) → (4He∗ + e−) → 4Heg.s. + Qconv.el. (23.8 MeV ) . (1.14) This result is in good agreement with the main find- ing of cold fusion experiments, viz., release of heat 5This conclusion is in qualitative agreement with theoretical calculation of A.S.Davydov for the maximum permissible deuteron radius 4 · 10−12 cm [167]. 94 and helium without emission of high-energy gamma- quanta, and provides evidence for the validity of the chemonuclear scenario of deuterium fusion. 1.10. On the mechanism of Coulomb barrier suppression under chemonuclear fusion conditions An idea that electrons are responsible for the pro- ton (deuteron) tunneling over the Coulomb barrier was first advanced and developed by Gryzinski in his investigations on chemical bonds in 1967-1987 [160, 178]. Within the framework of classical physics Gryzinski has studied bound states of the system con- sisting of two protons and one electron and discovered that there is a whole class of solutions when the at- traction between protons and negatively charged elec- trons predominates over the repulsion of protons, and two initially free nuclei can approach to each other at very short distances. Gryzinski has come to a conclu- sion that upon atomic collisions the Coulomb barrier overcoming by particle tunneling is a process of three bodies of which one is an electron. Such a view on the tunneling process was fruitful while using it in many fields of physics: in physics of atomic collisions [179], in atomic spectroscopy [180], in investigations into atomic and molecular diamagnetism [181]. In 1989 Gryzinski, regarding the cold fusion phenomenon, has drawn far-reaching conclusions ”. . . in principle, two deuterons in the presence of an electron can emerge at any temperature” [166]. In [128] Gryzinski pre- sented a model developed within the framework of classical physics which describes the protium (deu- terium) behavior in the palladium crystal lattice. Ac- cording to this model, protium (deuterium) in the palladium crystal lattice exists in the form of a su- perbound state - linear quasi-molecule - ”needle” in which the electron takes place strictly in the center of mass of two protons (deuterons). The electron position, such as this, provides the binding of posi- tively charged protons (neutrons) and simultaneously suppresses the Coulomb repulsion of these particles. During the palladium phase α-β-transition the quasi- molecule losses its stability and ”collapses”. In the case of a D+ 2 quasi-molecule this leads to the forma- tion of a tightly bound system - 4He∗. According to this model, the 4He nucleus excitation energy is relieved by the soft X-ray radiation. In 1990 Barut [131], while using the apparatus of the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantum theory of metals, has made up an analogous conclusion that there are three bodies in the system: two deuterons and one electron of the superbound metastable quasi-molecule - D+ 2 and obtained for the quasi-molecule binding energy the value of 50 keV . In 1992 Vigier [140] presented the analysis similar to the analysis by Barut. The above-mentioned models have not obtained the recognition for some reasons. First, as was noted in the review [92], under real conditions of deuterium fusion in the condensed matter, the existence in the models of an assumed quasi-molecule strict symme- try, and, consequently, a long-living quasi-molecule, are highly improbable extraordinary events. Second, these models do not explain a neutronless charac- ter of the cold fusion process. And, at last, the process of 4He nucleus excitation energy relieving by the soft X-ray radiation, accepted in the models, can’t provide the timely 4He∗ nucleus de-excitation, and, therefore, can’t explain the fusion reaction run- ning by the third channel of Tab. 1 (see Sec. 9, Ch. 1) with heat and helium generation, but without emis- sion of high-energy γ-quanta. However, under con- ditions of fusion chemonuclear scenario development, the Gryzinski conception on the role of electrons in the Coulomb barrier overcoming takes on determin- ing significance. In the fusion chemonuclear scenario the conception provides not only a theoretical basis for explaining of the most important part of the fu- sion process - a nuclear fusion under conditions of the Coulomb nuclear repulsion suppression by an elec- tron, but, also, extends the region, where fusion re- actions can occur, onto any section of the matrix lat- tice where in the course of experiment created are the conditions favorable for the tunneling realization by the Gryzinski mechanism. Thereby, the above- mentioned factors, forbidding the Gryzinski model existence in its original form, automatically fall away. Indeed, as it follows from the preceding paragraph, the (d+ + e− + d+) quasi-molecule and the electron- modified virtual (4He∗+e−) nucleus exist, under con- ditions of cold fusion experiments, only as short-living transition states of the system of interacting particles, and, in this connection, are no longer rare events. The second and the third prohibitions are no longer acting too. So, under chemonuclear scenario conditions the nuclear excitation energy is relieved by the conversion electrons, while the electron, par- ticipating in the tunneling process, is simultaneously both an electron modifying a virtual helium nucleus and a ”penetration” electron providing the energy relieving of the nucleus. Thus the ”timely” de- energization of the nucleus and the reaction running by the third neutronless channel of Table 1 is pro- vided. The question remains as to whether the tunnel- ing processes by the Gryzinski mechanism outside the quasi-molecule electron core can be sufficiently inten- sive for the intensive behavior of the first-group cold fusion phenomena (Sec. 1.6 Ch. 1) to explain with taking into account that the electron density in this case decreases by 1.5...2 orders of magnitude in com- parison with the electron density in the heavy quasi- molecule core. What can we say apropos of this? First of all, note that according to [129, 130] (see Sec. 9, Ch. 1) the electron participation in the process of conversion in the conducting matrix crystal lattice (”solid state conversion”) enhances the internal con- version coefficient during the p + d →3 He reaction more than by 10 orders of magnitude in compari- son with the free deuterium atom conversion coeffi- cient. It should be expected that a like effect will take place in the case of the d + d →4 He too. 95 Taking into account the above, the factors such as a high deuterium concentration, being characteristic for cold fusion experiments, exceptionally high ”im- perfection” of the deuterium-containing matrix (”de- fects” from the Frenkel pairs up to microcracks and fractures shown in Fig. 4, Fig. 11), high deuterium fluxes through the matrix etc. give grounds to ex- pect that the tunneling process by Gryzinski can run with an appreciable intensity in the matrix and out- side the quasi-molecule electron core. So, the tunneling process by Gryzinski can oc- cur as a final stage of the fusion process initiated by other mechanisms, as well as, an independent process of the deuteron chemonuclear fusion scenario. In any case the fusion process sustaining and development is provided by the conversion electron participation in the fusion process by our model. 1.11. Wave properties of interacting particles in the chemonuclear fusion scenario From general statements of physics it follows that the zone of deuteron approach before the fusion, is also the site where, in the course of processes providing the deuteron fusion, the wave properties of interact- ing particles begin to play a decisive role. To under- stand how this factor can change the process picture at this stage, let us quote a relevant statement by E.Schroedinger, one of quantum mechanics’ authors: ”The one thing which one has to accept and which is the inalienable consequence of the wave-equation as it is used in every problem, under the most various forms, is this: that the interaction between two mi- croscopic physical systems is controlled by a peculiar law of resonance.” Let us take into account this statement and see how the above-mentioned fusion process picture will change at this stage, having in mind that the processes in our microsystem are controlled by the resonance laws. The question about the resonance phenomenon participation in the processes of wave system inter- action was discussed in the review by F.A. Gareev, I.E. Zhidkov, Yu.A.Ratis (preprint of the Joint Insti- tute of Nuclear Research R-4-2004-68, Dubna, [89]. The authors have examined the state of the prob- lem under consideration for the long period begin- ning from the articles by H.Huygens and ending by E. Schroedinger and noted: ”If in the hierarchical sys- tem the subsystem motions have almost comparable frequencies, then, as a result of interaction, the mo- tions in the system will be synchronized, and the sub- system will move with almost comparable frequencies independently on the level of organization of the mat- ter and micro- and macrosystem fields, as well as, interactions realized in them. And there is no inter- action intensity threshold here. Basing upon the vast factual material on atomic and nuclear physics, solid state physics, molecular physics of living and inert systems, a hypothesis on the universality of a res- onance synchronization principle was suggested and verified ... The resonance synchronization principle is a consequence of the fundamental law of conservation of energy ... The universal principle acts as a univer- sal coordinating ”conductor” of hierarchical systems in the micro-, macro- and megaworld ...”. Then the authors of [89] note that the absence of synchroniza- tion threshold is a very important factor. ”The self- synchronization necessarily will take place, provided that the difference between the partial frequencies of objects is sufficiently little. The locking in synchro- nism is accompanied by the established well-defined phase relations between oscillations, while in the case of self-synchronization phase absence the phases are random. The question about the time necessary for the motion synchronism be established is of impor- tance”. The topic about the role of universal resonance synchronization processes as a universal coordinating factor of hierarchical systems was further developed in the recent paper by the authors of [125]: ”Univer- sal cooperative resonance principle of synchronization and breakthrough technologies”. Preprint [89] and paper [125] contains a conclu- sion which is very important for our case, namely: ”It may be supposed that the resonance synchro- nization so much enhances weak and electromagnetic processes that the cold nuclear transmutation can be possible in principle”. Taking into account the foregoing it might be ex- pected that the resonance synchronization contribu- tion into the chemonuclear fusion process will be es- pecially significant since in this case many factors promoting the nuclear fusion in the chemonuclear scenario will be also sufficiently effective in the for- mation of conditions for the resonance synchroniza- tion of motions in the interacting objects (nuclear ap- proach, increasing the time of object interaction etc.) Now we may suggest the following: an anomalous high rate of deuterium fusion reaction with the heat and helium generation without high-energy γ-quanta, observed in the cold fusion experiments, is due to the coincidence of the above-mentioned factors. Besides, the resonance synchronization in this case addition- ally enhances, by optimal way, the processes respon- sible for the nuclear fusion by our model (Sec. 9, 10 Ch. 1). As a result, the deuterium fusion process in- tensity increases up to the level, observed in the cold fusion experiments. In this case the reaction goes by the facilitated way (reaction 3, Table 1) without bond breakage, nuclear fusion and formation of tran- sition states - of an excited virtual compound-nucleus (4He∗ + e−). Synchronously with this process the conversion electrons relieve the excitation energy of the compound-nucleus without radiation of γ-quanta with the energy E = 23.8 MeV . The proposed fusion model is in good agreement with experiment and clears up all 3 mysteries of the cold fusion [3]: - offers the mechanism permitting to reject the Coulomb barrier-caused forbidding for the fusion re- action occurrence in the condensed matter; 96 - explains the neutronless character of the cold fusion reaction; - introduces into the fusion scenario a conversion mechanism of energy transfer to the matrix from nu- clei subjected to the nuclear reaction that explains the third mystery of the cold fusion. It is shown below that this model in the gen- eral case is valid also for the D+ 3 cluster (Sec. 12 and Sec. 13, Ch. 1). The offered deuterium fusion scenario, not exceed- ing the scope of solid state physics and traditional nuclear physics, at a qualitative level, all the findings of cold fusion experiments. 1.12. Deuterium fusion in the cluster in the quasi-molecule electron core (3D chemonuclear fusion) The scenario of deuterium fusion in the condensed matter will cardinally change if the third deuterium nucleus participates in the fusion reaction, as it is supposed in our model. The most important charac- teristics of 6Li∗, formed by fusion of three deuterons, is its lifetime in the excited state. A very long lifetime of 6Li∗, in comparison with the character- istic time of electromagnetic interaction processes (10−18...10−20 s and 10−15 s, respectively [21]), allows one to consider the electron conversion contribution into the process of lithium nucleus de-excitation as a determining component in the fusion process of three deuterium nuclei. On the other hand, the participation of the third heavy particle in the fusion reaction increases the in- tranuclear cross-section σ0. The transition from bi- nary collisions to the collision of three deuterium nu- clei increases the astrophysical factor S and, conse- quently, the reaction rate too, in 106 times [45]. How- ever, under conditions of the conventional hot fusion the probability of ternary reactions of deuterium nu- clei is negligible low. By the estimation given in [85] the probability of such reactions in the target of iner- tial laser fusion, having the deuteron density higher by a factor of 100 than that of metal deuterides, will be lower in 1010 times than the probability of binary fusion reactions. It is due to a little lifetime of the 4He∗ excited state (10−22 s) and a comparable short reaction time for 10 keV deuterium nuclei. According to our cluster model the deuterium fu- sion in the deuterium-metal system is realized, in gen- eral, via the reaction of three nuclei. The resulting increase of the astrophysical factor can be one of the main causes for the high intensity of nuclear reactions under these conditions [84, 85]. As is shown in Table 2, the D+ 3 cluster, being under conditions of our scenario, has an antiparal- lel deuteron spin direction that promotes nuclear fu- sion and provides high efficiency of 3D-fusion in the deuterium-metal system. In Sec.9-11, Ch.1 the hypothetic model of the nu- clear approach and fusion in the D+ 2 cluster, modified by the electron ”captured” in the cluster, is under consideration. Conditions for such processes can oc- cur in the case of the 3D-fusion are close to these which exist in the 2D-fusion. Therefore, we have every reason to assume the fusion model (Sec.9-11, Ch.1) as a process responsible for the Coulomb bar- rier overcoming and nuclear fusion in the case of the 3D- fusion too. Here, similarly to the 2D-fusion case, the high-intensity reactions would be expected to oc- cur without need for the nuclear bond breakage. The performed qualitative analysis of factors fa- vorable for 3D-fusion running by the chemonuclear scenario permits to suggest that in the experiment the 3D-fusion process might be drastically enhanced in comparison with the calculation made by the con- ventional methods of nuclear physics. Let us see whether this conclusion is in accord with the experi- ment. 1.13. 3D-fusion reactions in the deuterium-TiD1,4 system For the first time a proposition to use the 3D-fusion reaction for explaining nuclear processes in a con- densed matter was made by Bekker A. [77] and Takahashi A. [78] in 1989. During next years this problem was investigated by Rabinowitz M. [79], Kim Y.E. [80] Takahashi A. [81], Kasagi J. [82], Engvild K.C. [83]. One of the first works, where this problem has been studied experimentally, was that made by Kasagi in 1995 [163]. By bombard- ing a deuterium-loaded titanium target with 150 keV deuterons Kasagi detected protons and α-particles of energies which can’t take place in the binary DD- reactions. The complex particle spectra observed in the ex- periment of [163] were explained on the supposition that in the target the three-particle reactions take place, namely: D + D + D → p + n + d . Unexpected was the fact that the values obtained for the reaction rate ratio 3D : 2D were by twelve orders of magnitude higher than the calculated val- ues. This peculiarity was not explained in [163]. The most sequential study of a role of the 3D-fusion reac- tion in the cold fusion experiments was done by the Takahashi group. Table 6 presents the decay schemes of compound nuclei 5Li∗ and 6Li∗ formed in the con- densed matter. The table is made with taking into account the data obtained by Takahashi in 1995 [85]. According to the statements of the chemonuclear scenario of fusion in channels (4) and (5) given in the Takahashi table [85], we have changed in Table 6 the photon-phonon mechanism of nuclear excitation en- ergy relieving by the electron conversion mechanism. Let us see how the data given in Table 6 agree with the experiment. For this the experimental data are taken from the reports done by the Takahashi group in 2003 [84]. The authors have summarized in this re- port their investigations for 12 years and convincingly demonstrated that in the TiD1,4 target, being im- planted with ions of deuterium, hydrogen or silicon, 97 the 3D-fusion processes were observed. In the spec- tra of emitted particles they have detected such ones the presence of which unambiguously evidences that in the target the decay of excited 6Li∗ and 5Li∗ takes place (Table 6, channel 1, 2, 3 and 6, 7 respectively). Table 6. Scheme of 5Li∗ and 6Li∗ decay channels D + D + D →6 Li∗ (25.32 MeV ) → • d(15.9 MeV ) +4 He (7.90 MeV ) - (1) [85]; • t(4.75 MeV ) +3 He (4.75 MeV ) - (2) [85]; • n + p +4 He + 20.1 MeV - (3) [85]; • 6Li∗ (5.7 MeV ) + Qconv.el. (19.62 MeV ). • d (2.81 MeV ) +4 He (1.41 MeV ) - (4) [this paper]; • 6Li(g∗s) + Qconv.el. (23.9 MeV ) - (5) [this paper]. H + D + D →5 Li∗ (21.88 MeV ) → • p(19.1 MeV ) +4 He (4.77 MeV ) - (6) [85] • d(3.3 MeV ) +3 He (2.20 MeV ) - (7) [85] Also, it has been reliably established that the 3D- fusion under similar conditions is a result of sec- ondary processes due to the implanted particle- target atom interaction which slightly depends on the particle nature, as it must follow from the fusion chemonuclear scenario. However, under conditions of experiments done by particular authors, two results, obtained in [84], at first sight do not consist with notions on the 3D-fusion conception by our scenario. Consider the first of these results. It follows from Ta- ble 6 that the decay by channel (4) is accompanied by the emission of high-energy particles, d (2.81 MeV ) and 4He (1.41 MeV ), while in the emitted particle spectrum [84] these particles are not detected. At the same time in other experiments, done under similar experimental conditions, the emission of these parti- cles was reliably evidenced, for example, emission of 2.81 MeV deuterons [54], and 1.41MeV α-particles [86]. The supposed contradiction can be explained by the following. The question on the contribution of the reactions by channels (4) and (5) to the total yield of reactions in Table 6 is not studied. However, the fact, that in the cold fusion experiments the reactions, pro- ducing a larger thermal yield, are not accompanied by the appreciable γ-activity generation, means that the reaction contribution by channel (5) significantly ex- ceeds the reaction contribution by channel (4) and the charged-particle emission by channel (4) goes with a low intensity. A particle flux of such intensity could not be detected at the high background level in this part of the spectrum obtained in (84) and this is the case of this work. Now let us consider the second, of the above- mentioned experimental results of [84]. Here, sim- ilarly to Kasagi paper [163], a very high value of the 3D/2D fusion reaction ratio was obtained. So, the value of the 3D/2D fusion reaction ratio cal- culated by nuclear physics method is ∼ 1 · 10−30, and the value of this ratio obtained experimentally in [84] is 1 · 10−3...1 · 10−4, i.e. higher by a factor of 1025...1026. Taking into account the peculiarities of 3D-fusion reaction running in the deuterium-TiD1,4 system (see Sec.12, Ch.1), this mystery can be ex- plained satisfactorily at a qualitative level. First, as is indicated in this paragraph, under influence of chemofactors inherent to the medium, the intensity of the 3D-reaction in the deuterium-TiD1,4 system can be drastically enhanced in comparison with its values obtained under conditions of the hot fusion. Second, as follows from the Table 4 and discussion in Sec.4, Ch.1, the thermodynamically-conditioned par- allel direction of deuterons, forming the 2D-cluster, can, under proper conditions, cardinally suppress the intensity of nuclear reactions in the 2D-cluster. In that case the ratio of 3D/2D reaction rates can get an extremely high value (see [84, 163]). So, the results of [84] and [163] are satisfactory explained from the position of chemonuclear fusion and, therefore, they can be considered as experimental substantiation of our nuclear fusion scenario. 1.14. Bineutron hypothesis in the current studies The law of charge independence of nuclear forces, that is the object of wide speculation since 40th years of the past century, is directly concerned with a hy- pothesis on the existence of a bineutron 2n [90, 91]. According to the Pauli principle the bineutron can’t exist in the ternary state (neutron-fermion), and ex- ists only in the singlet state (antiparallel spin di- rection). At the same time, it is well-known that the singlet (p − n) has no bound states. Therefore, the fact of the bineutron existence, provided that it is reliably established, might evidence that the law of charge invariance of nuclear forces does not exist [66]. To present day, despite repeated attempts, the bineutron existence was not confirmed by the nuclear physics methods. At the same time, as is noted in [90], the peak observed in the continuous spectrum of C particles, when studying the C particle energy spectrum in the A+B → C +2 n reactions, evidences on the existence of the neutron-neutron attraction that is somewhat insufficient for the bound state formation. In the latter article (1985) Bochkarev et al. [144] have shown that 45±10% of the yield of 6He excited state decay is made by bineutrons. Seth and Parker [145] found confirmations of bineutron participation in the decay of 5H, 6H, 8He. In [168] the report on the tetraneutron emission as a result of 14Be decay is given. Today the fact that bineutron is a short- living metastable particle composed of two neutrons can be considered as recognized [146-149]. The en- ergy of this system in the singlet state exceeds by about of 70 keV a zero-point energy [90]. Near the surface of neutron-excess nuclei the bineutron can ex- ist as a bound system [150]. Since 1989 the hypothesis on the bineutron exis- tence is attracted for explaining anomalous nuclear 98 phenomena found in the experiments done by Fleis- chman and Pons. Critical analysis of their experi- mental results was performed by the known special- ists in the field of CMNS: Chechin, Tsarev, Rabi- nowitz, Kim in 1994, review [92]. Let us cite the cor- responding part of this review: ”This model of the formation of two coupled n’s, a bineutron (2n) under e-capture is similar to that of Section 4.1.5: e+ d →2 n+ νe. (1.15) It was proposed independently by Andermann (1990), Pokropivny et al (1990), and Russell (1990,1991a, 1991b), and later by Yang (1991). The 2n energy levels were estimated from pn scattering data. The energy of the singlet 2n state was calcu- lated to be ∼ 125..143 keV by Pokropivny et al. This is close to that for d ∼ 67 keV . The 2n lifetime was estimated by different approaches as ∼ 10−15 s. They claim this is enough for CF . They assume, that the lifetime may be increased up to between 10−9 and 10−7 s., if the electron momentum can be transferred to a group of atoms or the entire crystal as in the Mossbauer effect. The authors think that this model can explain, n, t, and He production and their absence in some experiments, as well as the sporadic nature of CF . They think that an electron with the needed energy ∼ 60 keV may be produced in the electrolytic double layer, during fracture, etc.” Below the extracts from the article by Pokropivny, 1990 [94] dedicated to this model are quoted: ” ... a rigorous substantiation ... is reduced to the con- sideration of a quantum-mechanical problem of the inelastic resonance scattering on the deuteron with the energy of ∼ 70 keV close to the energy of the vir- tual quasi-discrete level of a two-nucleon system in the singlet or triplet state with taking into account the crystal field. A quasi-stable state of the elec- tron with a deuteron, being arising, bound by the low centrifugal potential (∼ 1 MeV ) can be consid- ered as a quasi-neutron, the lifetime of which is the higher, the closer is its energy to the virtual state of the two-nucleon system ... So, a necessary condi- tion for obtaining a quasi-stable bineutron by the en- dothermal e-capture reaction is the high energy and the high electron density, as well as, observation of the indicated resonance condition ... Difference in experimental results is explained, very likely, by the difference between the electron energy and resonance values. To verify the proposed mechanism, the parame- ters of experiments on the chemonuclear fusion ob- servation should be changed so that the accelerated electron energy can be changed in the range from 1 to ∼ 100 keV . Then, at certain values, corresponding to the energy of bineutron virtual levels, the fusion reac- tion rate will be significantly increased. In conclusion note: if the existence of quasi-stable bineutrons in the metal lattice will be reliably proven, than a new type of nuclear reactions with bineutron participation will be discovered - of both the fusion and the fission of lattice atoms or impurity atoms”. The author of review [92], estimating the experi- ments of [93-98], note the following: ”There are two main objections against the bineutron model. First, the experimental data from nuclear physics testifies against the existence of 2n. Second, the probability for the weak interaction electron capture reaction is extremely small. Even if one overlooks the necessity of having electrons with very high energy to initi- ate such a reaction, the small probability makes this mechanism incapable of explaining CF”. Apparently, the authors of [92] have no doubt that the bineutron generation process supposed in [93-98] exists but show up two weak points in the model which, in their opinion, make the model unsuitable for explaining the cold fusion. What one might say about such an estimation of the results from [93-98]. First of all note, that the conclusion of the authors of [92], that the model proposed in [93-98] is incapable of explaining the cold fusion, completely coincides with the estimation of this model in the chemonuclar fusion scenario (Sec. 15, Ch. 1). According to this sce- nario, the weak-interaction reactions in the cold fu- sion are secondary ones, relatively to the reactions conditioned by strong interactions which are respon- sible for the heat and helium generation. Therefore, these reactions can possess only a much weaker inten- sity as compared to the intensive primary reactions. As is noted in Sec. 15, Ch. 1, this conclusion is in good agreement with the experiment of [3-5]. However, it is necessary to consider once again the conclusion made by authors of [92] that the existence of bineutrons is not confirmed by nuclear physics. In this connection let us demand as far as possible in principle to reproduce chemonuclear fusion condi- tions in the nuclear physics experiments? There are four peculiarities in our scenario, being the most im- portant for this case, which must strongly promote the production and short living of a bineutron that is impossible under conditions of the traditional nuclear physics: 1. According to the fusion chemonuclear scenario a bineutron is produced inside the 3D-cluster at the instant when two cluster deuterons are merging due to the capture of deuterons of energetic conversion electrons, arising in the fusion process, by the third cluster deuteron (Sec. 15 Ch. 1). 2. The density of the quasi-molecule electron core in the region, where the deuterium fusion process and bineutron production occur, is higher by several orders of magnitude than the electron density that might be observed in the reaction zone under condi- tions of nuclear experiment (Sec. 9, Ch. 1). 3. Under conditions of our scenario the bineutron, since the production to the instant when it is ab- sorbed by the nucleus forming the heavy atom quasi- molecule, may do not leave the quasi-molecule elec- tron core. A very high electron core density promotes the bineutron life time. 4. One may expect that under conditions of high densities in the fusion reaction, a considerable contri- 99 bution to the bineutron generation would be obtained from the generation process by the Pokropivny mech- anism [87, 94] on the matrix deuterons outside the nuclear fusion zone (Sec. 15, Ch. 1). It follows from the foregoing that the situation in the electron environment of the zone, where reac- tion (1.15) proceeds, radically differs from that one in the chemonuclear scenario where this process can oc- cur in the experiments of nuclear physics. Therefore, the data obtained in the nuclear physics can not be sufficient to answer the question about the bineutron existence under conditions of cold fusion experiments. At the same time, as early as in 1947 in the ar- ticles by E.Serge [99] and R.Dandel [100] it has been shown that the radioactive decay constant, for nu- clei decaying with orbital electron absorption, can be changed by introducing these nuclei into different chemical compounds. Later, Ya.B. Zeldovich and I.D.Novikov in their book [101] (1967) emphasized that ”... nuclei with the neutron excess are stabilized by the electron presence”. As noted above, according to [150] near the surface of neutron-excess nuclei the bineutron can exist as a bound system. Apropos of this S.V. Starodubtsev in his monograph (1969) has writ- ten: ”For the last 10 years researchers obtained strong evidences of the fact that the probability of the processes, such as an electron capture or inter- nal conversion of γ-rays, depends on the state of electron shells of decaying atoms” [102, p. 218]. To date there are many known research works in which these phenomena are reliably established and studied. These problems are thoroughly considered in the re- view [89], 2005. The authors of the review make a conclusion: ”Energy-weak external effects can serve as a ”trigger” for the forbidden processes to open or for unforbidden ones to enhance, for example, under the laser action on the photofission, the fission prob- ability can be increased by 3-4 orders of magnitude. The nuclear β-decay into the atomic bound states can be enhanced due to the ionization by 9 orders of magnitude, and the enhancement of the spontaneous fission from the nuclear isomeric state, as compared to the ground state, can reach 20-29 orders”. And, at last, in Sec. 15-16, Ch. 1 it is shown that admission of the fact of bineutron existence permits to clarify some phenomena, reliably established in the cold fusion experiments, but not yet explained: nu- clear fission and nuclear transmutation, generation of high-energy neutrons, protons and α-particles, tri- tium production etc. Thus, there are reasons to admit the hypothesis, as a working one, on the metastable bineutron exis- tence under cold fusion conditions and to see how this hypothesis agrees with the notions of the deuterium fusion running by the chemonuclear scenario. 1.15. Weak-interaction reaction and the bineutron in the deuterium chemonuclear fusion scenario As it follows from the above-mentioned discussion (Sec. 9-13, Ch. 1) the deuterium fusion chemonuclear scenario satisfactorily explains the nature of phe- nomena responsible for the heat and helium gener- ation in the cold fusion experiments. However, at the early stage of this direction developing in the experiments other phenomena were also discovered, but much weaker as compared to the before-named, e.g. production of chemical element impurities hav- ing an isotope composition distinct from the natural one, generation of high-energy neutrons, protons, ?- particles etc. The intensity of the processes of this group is lower by ten and more orders than the inten- sity of processes responsible for the heat and helium generation [3, 5,156]. Existence of these processes can be considered as an evidence of weak-interaction reactions, taking place under cold-fusion conditions, which are highly improbable under vacuum condi- tions. Let us consider this problem in more details. To initiate the reaction with weak-interaction of two pro- tons in vacuum, accepted today in astrophysics, p+p → d+e++νe , (1.16) it is necessary for one of protons in the left side of reaction (1.16) to transform into neutron p → n + e+ + νe (−1.8 MeV ). (1.17) This, as follows from (1.17), is a deep endothermal process which can be realized in the case of fluctua- tion weak proton decay into neutron, positron and neutrino. That is why reactions (1.16) and (1.17), having a very low intensity, were not observed in the laboratory conditions. The astrophysical factor S for reaction (1.16), characterizing the intensity of intranuclear processes, is in 1024 times less than the values of this factor for d− d-reactions [121]. If the deuteron generation process takes place in the conducting matrix, similarly to the case of cold fusion experiments, then the matrix electron partic- ipates in the reaction and the reaction takes the fol- lowing form p + p + e− → d + νe , (1.18) Under these conditions the transformation of one of protons in reaction (1.18) into neutron goes via the weak-interaction reaction - by the k-capture of the electron p+e− → n+νe (−0.786 MeV ). (1.19) Reaction (1.19) is appreciably more intensive as compared to reaction (1.17): first, in reaction (1.19) a very slow stage of reaction (1.17) is excluded - a weak fluctuation process of proton decay into neu- tron, positron and neutrino, and, second, in this case the reaction threshold was decreased from 1.8 to 0.786 MeV . However, because of the endothermal character of reaction (1.19) and the slow process of electron transformation into neutrino, reaction (1.19) is still an improbable event: the calculated value of the reaction cross-section in this case is ≤ 10−20 barn [169, 170]. When reaction (1.19) takes place on the proton, being in the nuclear composition, the energy necessary for the reaction is provided due to the nu- clear rearrangement in the course of k-capture. It is 100 natural that this event happens only on the nuclei predisposed to this process: upon observation of se- lection rules and conservation laws existing in nuclear physics and, first of all, if it is an energy- favorable process [171, 192]. Then the reaction duration is de- termined, above all, by the time necessary for the nuclear structure transformation and often comes to the well-observed values. Under chemonuclear fusion conditions the char- acter of this process can be cardinally changed. The cluster nature of the fusion process in this scenario creates real preconditions for overcoming the energy barrier of the neutron production reaction (1.19) and the bineutron production reaction (1.20), now due to the strong-interaction reactions, namely, the reac- tions generating 3He and 4He by our model (Sec.9- 11, Ch.1). Let us consider this process by the exam- ple of the 3D-fusion reaction in the conducting con- densed matter. In the course of chemonuclear fusion one of three deuterons, getting into the zone of D+ 3 - cluster collision with a heavy surface atom, may not participate, for some reason, in the deuteron fusion process. Then such deuteron, being under extreme conditions of the zone where two other deuterons are merging (local release of energy in large quantities, high intensity of gamma-conversion processes, high density of interacting particles etc.), can be involved into the reaction responsible for the bineutron pro- duction by the Pokropivny mechanism [94]: D+ ẽ− →2 n+νe , (1.20) where, ẽ− - is a high-energy electron, 2n is a bineu- tron. Participation of quasi-molecule electron-core elec- trons in the excitation energy relieving not only ex- cludes a slow stage of reaction (1.16) - a weak fluctu- ation process of proton decay into neutron, positron and neutrino, but also provides conditions under which the energy, transferred to the proton being in the deuteron composition, is sufficient to com- pensate the endothermal character of reaction (1.20) (E ∼ 60 keV ) [94]. Due to the participation of ”penetration” elec- trons in this process (Sec. 9, Ch. 1) there a more rare (requiring the energy of∼ 0.786 MeV ) process of pro- ton conversion into neutron takes place [22]. The neu- tron generation reaction can occur in the case when in the zone of two-deuteron reaction a proton instead of a deuteron will takes place. The particles -neutron and bineutron, produced in these reactions will pos- sess ultra-low energies. Neutrons of such energy, hav- ing a very large cross-section of interaction with nu- clei of elements, will be absorbed by nuclei within the range of several angstrom units [22]. A bineu- tron, most probably, will interact with the nuclei of a heavy atom forming a quasi-molecule. Tab. 7 presents the most possible nuclear reac- tions which can take place in the deuterton-palladium system, if quasi-stable bineutrons are participating in the reaction [142]. To simplify the examination and to improve the evidence in the table a particular case is under consideration: the deuterium fusion reaction in the D3 - cluster at the cluster collision with a nu- clide 46Pd104 of the palladium-target. Table 7. Nuclear reaction with bineutron participation in the chemonuclear 3−D fusion (d+ + e− + d+ + e− + d+) → (d+ + e− + d+) + d+ → (4He∗ + e−) + d+ →4 Heg.s. + Q1(ẽ − conv.) + d+ → →4 Heg.s. +2 n + νe ; (1) (d+ + e− + d+ + e− + p+) → (d+ + e− + d+) + p+ → (4He∗ + e−) + p+ →4 Heg.s. + Q2(ẽ − conv.) + p → →4 Heg.s. + n + νe ; (2) | → f → Nu1(26Fe58); | → f → Nu2(20Ca48); (3.1) | → 46Pd105 + n (8.48 MeV ); (3.2) 46Pd104 +2 n →46 Pd106∗ → 〈 | → 45Rh105 β; 35.4 hr + p (7.2 MeV ); (3.3) | → 44Ru102 + α (11.6 MeV ); (3.4) | → 46Pd106 + Q3 (ẽ−conv.); (3.5) d +2 n → T (1.56 MeV ) + n (4.64 MeV )− d + T (1.56 MeV ) → α (6.9− 1.44 MeV ) + n (12.5− 17.7 MeV ) (4) 46Pd104 + n →46 Pd105∗ →46 Pd105 g.s. + Q4(ẽ − conv.) (5) In Tab. 7 the symbol Qn (ẽ−conv) designates the excitation energy of the nucleus Qn taken away by fast conversion electrons (ẽ−conv). 1.16. Cold fusion - deuterium chemonuclear fusion in the deuterium-metal system From the above consideration it follows that the nu- merous anomalous phenomena observed in the cold fusion experiments can be divided into two large groups. The first group includes phenomena lead- ing to the heat and helium production. To date these phenomena are reliable evidences observed in the studies of more than hundred researchers [5]. An anomalous high intensity of the first-group phenomena indicates to their nuclear nature. In the chemonuclear scenario the existence of these 101 processes is related with the fusion reaction running through the relieved third channel of Tab. 1. These processes occur with participation of Dn-clusters where n ≥ 2. The model of deuterium chemonuclear fusion explains all the observed phenomena from this group (including three cold fusion ”mysteries”) and therefore in the part of a strong-interaction reaction the model can be considered as reliably confirmed by the cold fusion experiments ((Sec. 9-13 Ch. 1). The second-group phenomena are: production, in the cold fusion experiments, of elemental impurities having an anomalous isotope composition, genera- tion of energetic neutrons, protons and α-particles, tritium recovery etc. The intensity of phenomena of this group is lower by 6 - 10 orders of magni- tude than that of the first-group phenomena. In the chemonuclear fusion scenario the existence of the second-group phenomena is related with the oc- curence of weak-interaction reactions under cold fu- sion conditions (Sec. 14-15 Ch. 1). As is noted in Sec. 15 Ch. 1, in accordance with the statements of nuclear physics the endothermic character of the reac- tion with proton transformation into neutron (1.19), when neutron enters into the nuclear composition, is overcome due to the strong interactions, i.e. nu- clear rearrangement [7, 171, 192]. A cluster nature of the chemonuclear fusion process has permitted us to apply a similar approach to the virtual com- pound nucleus (which is an electron-modified nucleus (4He∗+e−) (Sec. 15 Ch. 1) formed at the collision be- tween the ”aligned” 3D cluster and the heavy atom), and to consider the second-group phenomena as a re- sult of weak-interaction reactions radically enhanced in the zone of deuterium nuclear fusion. In this connection it is obvious that the second- group phenomena require more than two deuterons to be realized. As a result of the D + D + D clus- ter inclusion bineutrons are generated, and when the D + D + H cluster is joined, then neutrons are gen- erated (Tab. 7, Sec. 15 Ch. 1). The neutron emission detection in the cold fusion experiments indicates the participation in the fusion process of the clusters com- posed of 3 or more atoms. The purpose of this para- graph is to show that the second-group phenomena also can be satisfactorily described at a qualitative level by the deuterium chemonuclear fusion scenario. 1.16.1. Production of impurities having an anomalous isotope composition From Table 7, reaction (3.1) it follows that the impu- rity production in the process of chemonuclear 3D- fusion is related, first of all, with fission of target nuclei excited as a result of bineutron absorption. So, in the case when a nuclide 46Pd104 serves as a quasi-molecule heavy atom, according to Table 7, the bineutron absorption by the nucleus 46Pd104 leads to the formation of a nucleus 46Pd106∗ excited to Eexcit ≈ 16 MeV . At the same time, as is shown in [142], the level of fission of this nucleus by the channel with production of stable nuclei is Efiss ≈ 13.2 MeV . Thus, as a result of bineutron absorption the palla- dium nucleus may break apart in two stable frag- ments 26Fe58 and 20Ca48 [142]. The fragments pro- duced by reaction (3.1) in other cases will be of a stable character too. It is determined by two factors. A main factor is a ”slow” nature of fission process under these conditions. The fission reaction rate in the chemonuclear fusion reaction is determined by the ”alternating” absorption of neutrons within the bineutron, by the heavy nucleus constituting the quasi-molecule, and, thereby, has a relatively slow character. At the same time, as is shown in [151] the fission reactions, being of a slow character in compar- ison with uranium-235 fission reactions, do not pro- duce neutrons, α-particles and gamma-rays and do not form radioactive fragments. This is because in the case of ”slow” fission the excited nucleus has the time for the choice of the most thermodynamically suitable fission channel - in order to break apart into stable nuclei. On the other hand, the residual radioactivity of palladium fission fragments will be low as these frag- ments have a much higher surface tension, as com- pared with heavy uranium fission fragments, and, consequently, have a stable spherical form [142]. Nu- clei of this type can’t possess a residual radioactivity, inherent to heavy deformed nuclei of uranium fission fragments, conditioned by the nuclear shape relax- ation. Let us give an example which evidences on the nuclear fission reaction contribution to the impurity element production in the cold fusion experiments and on the bineutron fission initiation. Fig.8. Histogram showing a number of occasions reported when on the cathode surface observed were anomalous chemical elements against the atomic number of these elements Fig. 8 presents the histogram taken of Preprint [172], showing a number of occasions, when authors ob- served impurity elements on the cathode surface af- ter electrolysis and gas-discharge experiments, as a function of the atomic number of these elements. In experiments a cathode material was palladium and in electrolysis experiments platinum was used as an an- ode material. It is seen from the histogram that the impurity is composed, for the most part, of elements 102 with the atomic weight almost equal to the half of the palladium atomic weight. This corresponds to the supposition that these products are produced as a re- sult of palladium nuclear fission (and, in some cases, of platinum which is transported to the cathode by the electrolysis). Radioactive products, among these presented in the histogram, are observed rarely and, as a rule, they refer to the heavy nuclides taking place in the region of palladium and platinum. The appearance of radioactive products indicates on the running of reactions (2), (3.2), (3.3), (3.4) and (3.5), Table 7. An argument for the bineutron mechanism of nu- clear fission is also the correlation between the excess heat release and impurity production observed in a series of experiments (see [177]). According to the chemonuclear fusion scenario the bineutron genera- tion is in direct relationship with the fusion process intensity by this scenario. ”Heavy” tracks detected in [153, 154] using a CR- 39 detector are, as is noted in [151], a direct evidence for the nuclear fission reaction occurrence under cold fusion conditions. So, the version, accepted in this paper, about participation of weak-interaction reac- tions and bineutron in the deuterium chemonuclear fusion is in good accordance with the experiment. 1.16.2. Bineutron mechanism of generation of energetic α-particles, protons and neutrons Emission of energetic (10...14 MeV ) α-particles is one of the cold fusion phenomena which still await clari- fication [3, 136]. Up to now there is no explanation for experimental results obtained by A.Roussetski in [136], where the generation of protons with the en- ergy from 5.8 to 7.8 MeV has been reliably estab- lished, and by J. Kasagi in [163], where the generation of neutrons with the energy from 3 to 10 MeV was observed. Let us show that the emission of such par- ticles in their experiments might be a consequence of the reaction occurrence with bineutron participation. The bineutron absorption leads to excitation of a heavy atom nucleus up to the level when the nu- clear excitation energy Eexcit significantly exceeds the energy of nucleon separation from the nucleus - Enucl.separ. In this case, the energy de-excitation of the nucleus, if it has not had yet split, before nuclear fission (see p. 1 Sec. 16 Ch. 1) will happen due to the emission of n, p nucleons or their clusters d, T , 3He, 4He. The probability of nuclear γ-quantum radiation in the region of high excitation energies Eexcit > Enucl.separ is substantially lower than the probability of nucleon emission as the electromagnetic interac- tion constant is lower by two orders than the strong interaction constant. In Tab. 7 the process of nuclear relieving due to the fast particle emission is demon- strated by reactions (3.2)-(3.4). In Table 8 the calcu- lated values of the fast particle energy, we have ob- tained in reactions (3.2)-(3.4), Tab. 7, are compared with experimental ones. It follows from Tab. 8 that all the calculated energy values are in good accord with the experiment. So, the experimental results given in this para- graph convincingly confirm the bineutron mechanism of origin of energetic α-particles, protons and neu- trons in the cold fusion experiments. Table 8. High-energy α-particles, protons and neutrons in the deuterium chemonuclear fusion scenario Palladium isotopes 102 104 105 106 107 108 110 Eω, calculated, MeV 14,436 11,627 12,054 11,464 2,05 10,139 8,756 Eω,, experimental, MeV [136, 156] 14,0 ... 9,2 14,0 ... 9,2 14,0 ... 9,2 14,0 ... 9,2 14,0 ... 9,2 14,0 ... 9,2 Ep calculated, MeV 8,86 7,2 6,74 5,26 5,45 - - Ep, experimental, MeV [136, 156] 7,8 - - 5,6 - - - En, calculated, MeV [156, 163] 7,54 8,84 9,48, 6,47 9,47 6,09 5,7 En, experimental, MeV [156, 163] 10...3 10...3 10...3 10...3 10...3 10...3 10...3 However, the neutron generation in the cold fu- sion experiments is a phenomenon for which con- tradictory, in many respects, results were obtained. In this connection this problem will be considered in more details. As stated above, to date most of the cold-fusion experimental results show that the intensity of this phenomenon is lower by ten of or- ders as compared with phenomena responsible for the heat and helium generation [5]. Nevertheless, some cases are known when in the properly done experi- ments the neutron emission was recorded with a high reliability at a much higher intensity level [3]. As an example let us consider the results of our above- mentioned experiment done in 1989 [16]. The main results on neutron emission were obtained in exper- iments with palladium and titanium samples. First the samples were subjected to cryogenic saturation with deuterium and then to heating in vacuum at a temperature from 78K to 1300 K and a rate from 1.5 to 3 Ks−1. Experiments were carried out with simultaneous recording of the neutron yield, mass- spectroscopic monitoring of the partial D2 pressure (m = 4 amu) and flows of desorbed gases with masses from 1 to 6 amu. Experimental results obtained have shown that the neutron detector counting rate depends on the 103 sample temperature. For both metals two temper- ature regions with exceeding the neutron detector counting rate above the background response were observed. For Pd they are the temperature re- gions of 100...400 K and 900..1300 K, and for Ti of 100...300 K and 600..1200 K. For titanium the curves of temperature depen- dence of the neutron detector signal normalized to the average background value n/nφ in this experi- ment are shown in Fig.9. The values of n/nφ, given in the plot, are the averages taken over the data of 15 experiments. The vertical ”whiskers” indicate the values of root-mean-square errors of n/nφ, and horizontal ones - the errors in the temperature eval- uation. Fig.9. Temperature dependence of (n/nφ) for Ti irradiated with ions (E = 25 KeV ) to doze of 1 · 1019 cm−2 As is seen from Fig.9 the maximum average values of the detector counting rate exceeding above the background response are 2...3.3 that, in the case of an average background response of ∼ 2 · 10−2 pulses · s−1 and detector counting efficiency of 2 · 10−4 pulse/neutron, corresponds to the hypothetic neutron source intensity of ∼ 102 neutron/s. The heat generation level in this study we have evaluated by the target heating in the cryogenic experience and obtained 0.075 W . If assume that the excess heat generation is produced by the reaction (3) Table 1, the ratio of the number of neutron production reactions to the number of heat generation reactions in our experiments in 1989 is ∼ 5 · 10−9 that significantly exceeds the value of ∼ 10−10 accepted for this ratio in reviews [3, 5]. The same high values of the reaction levels in this study were also obtained in records of the charged particle yield [16, 17]. It should be noted, that in the case of preliminary evacuated samples, as well as, evacuated and H+ im- planted samples, the neutron counting rate was not exceeded and the charged particle emission during the target heating was not observed. Comparison between the temperature depen- dences of n/nφ and the curves of thermal des- orption from the deuterium-implanted titanium (Fig.10) shows that there is a correlation be- tween the neutron detector counting rate increase and the desorption of deuterium from titanium. Fig.10. Thermal desorption spectrum of the Ti sample irradiated with D+ 2 ions (E = 25 keV ) to doze of 1 · 1019 cm−2. Heating rate is 1...3 K · s−1; ◦ −D2; • −m = 3 amu; 4−m = 2 amu Qualitatively a similar picture takes place for the palladium target too. In the thermal desorption spectra obtained in our experiments the particles with masses (in amu) 1(H), 2(D, H2), 3(HD, 3He, T ) and 4(D2, 4He, HT ) were observed. The particles with masses 5 and 6, corre- sponding to DT and T2 were not found, though the presence of tritium produced in the process of tar- get irradiation with the ion beam was detected in the thermal desorption products using the radiographic method. The presence of hydrogen in the thermodesorbed gas, probably, is related with the hydrogen impurity presence in deuterium used in these experiments, and the separation method, applied for the ion beam for- mation, did not permit to separate ions D2 and DH2. As regards the problem on the neutron genera- tion mechanism in [16] it should be noted that the double-humped shape of the temperature dependence curves for neutron emission and deuterium desorption is in good correlation with the results of the detailed investigation on the deuterium-titanium system ful- filled by the Kharkov researchers using the cryogenic implantation method [182]. According to these inves- tigations, the peak in the thermal desorption curve at Tmax ∼ 200 K corresponds to the superstechiometric deuterium release from the solid solution in TiD2, and the peak in the region of 1000K is explained by the thermal decomposition of this compound. The neutron emission under these conditions, probably, could be provided by the running of re- action (1) - (3.2) and reaction (2), Tab. 7. A high concentration and large deuterium flows in the matrix, high levels of internal stresses and ma- trix ”imperfection” up to the matrix fracture and cracking (Fig. 11), caused by the nucleation and decay of phases, as well as, other phenomena ac- companying the experience with rapid evacuation of titanium implanted with deuterium by cryogenic method - all these factors promote the effective in- volvement of mechanisms (Sec. 3, Ch. 1) initiating 104 the chemonuclear fusion and occurrence of nuclear reactions from Tab. 7 at an abnormally high level. Fig.11. Photomicrograph of the surface of Ti implanted with deuterium to dose of 1 · 1019 cm−2 after heating to 300K (a), 850 K, × 1000 The foregoing explains the high levels of heat gener- ation, neutron- and charged particle yield observed in [16, 17]. In specific experimental conditions the different level of neutron yields observed in the cold fusion experiments is determined by the degree of participation of different reactions from Tab. 7 in the fusion process. It follows from Tab. 7 that the neu- tron generation in experiments of [16, 17] is provided by the running of reactions (1)-(3, 2) and reaction (2) from this table. However, only reactions (1)-(3.2) are responsible for the neutron yield recorded in [16, 17] (Fig. 9), because the neutrons emitted by reaction (2) have an ultralow energy and, as is noted above, will be absorbed by the matrix not reaching the neutron detector (Sec. 15, Ch. 1).A minimum level of neutron yield takes place in the reactions with 2D cluster participation (”neutronless” reactions). A neutronless character of many cold fusion experi- ments proves that reactions in these experiments go by the chemonuclear 2D-fusion scenario ((Sec. 9-11, Ch. 1). Such a picture qualitatively explains all the peculiarities of neutron generation observed in the cold fusion experiments. 1.16.3. Tritium generation Tritium generation is one of the first cold fusion phe- nomena which has been reliably established but not explained for the time being [3, 133, 138]. The in- tensity of this process is by 5-9 orders of magni- tude higher than the neutron emission intensity. This proves that the neutron emission in these experiments is not related directly with the conventional hot fu- sion process. Table 9. Tritium production in the process of pulsed electric discharge in electrolytes based on heavy-water and natural-water [186] Experience Electrolyte Cathode- Tritium content Background ence composition anode material Bq/kg∗ exceeding 1 1 MLi + D2O Nb−Ni 1340 450 times [185] 2 0.2 M Ta−W 160 53 times [186] K2CO3 + H2O ∗Analysis was performed by the specialized laboratory of the Institute of Environmental Geophysics, NAS of Ukraine Tab. 9 presents our results obtained in the ex- periments on the tritium production in the process of pulsed electric discharge in the heavy-water based electrolyte and in the electrolyte which is 0.2 M K2CO3 solution in the natural water. The re- sults under consideration have two evident peculiar- ities - a very high level of tritium accumulation in the heavy water-based electrolyte and tritium accu- mulation, though with much lower rates, in the nat- ural water-based electrolyte. In both cases the tri- tium accumulation level significantly exceeds a pos- sible measurement error that removes all doubts in the reality of the tritium generation process in these experiments. As it follows from Tab. 7 in the deuterium fusion chemonuclear scenario the tritium generation is the result of the deuteron-bineutron reaction by the chan- nel 4 of this table. Fig. 12 presents the energy spectrum of parti- cles emitted by the titanium target in the process of cryogenic implantation of 12.5 keV deuterons into this target. This spectrum was obtained in our experiments in 1989 [16] and in 1998 [126]. Fig.12. [126]. Energy spectrum of charged par- ticles from the Ti sample irradiated with ions (E = 25 keV ) to dose of 1 · 1019 cm−2. The peak in the centre of the spectrum corresponds to tritons having the energy of ∼ 1.5...1.6 MeV 105 The detector in this experiment was closed with a nickel film of a 0.57 µm thick. The spectrum under consideration was analyzed with taking into account the energy losses and corresponding shifts of spectral peaks due to the generation of energetic α-particles, tritons and protons which are inherent in the con- ventional DD-fusion. It has been established that in the formation of the spectrum, besides the processes of conentional hot fusion of deuterium, participat- ing are the processes responsible for generation of 1.5...1.6 MeV tritons (peak of ∼ 1.3 Mev in the spec- trum of Fig. 12). As it follows from Tab. 7 the source of these par- ticles is a chain of reactions (4) initiated by a bineu- tron. This is an additional reliable evidence for the deuterium fusion chemonuclear scenario being con- sidered in the present paper. 1.16.4. Emission of three α-particles Let us consider once more a phenomenon recognized in the cold fusion phenomenon - emission of three α-particles from the very small detector volume [3]. In [86, 164, 165] this phenomenon is explained as an evidence for the carbon nuclear splitting reaction subjected to the fast neutron action C + n → 3α + n + Q . (1.21) According to estimations done in the investigation of α-particles [165], the energy of a neutron initiat- ing reaction (1.21) is En ≈ 13.25...13.47 MeV . At present, there is no conventional mechanism of such- type neutron generation. The secondary hot fusion d−T reaction, accepted in [165] as a neutron source, might proceed with participation of primary d + d reactions at a level never observed in the cold fu- sion experiments. This condition was noticed in our paper [126], 1998 and [136], 2000. It follows from Table7 that under chemonuclear fusion conditions the chain of bineutron initiated reactions (4) is re- sponsible for the splitting of carbon nuclei. Tritons of 1.5...1.6 MeV energy, generated in this reaction chain, are clearly observed in the spectrum (Fig. 12) that additionally testifies to this claim. 1.16.5. Low radioactivity of cold fusion processes A low radioactivity of cold fusion processes is one of the most known and attractive features of this phe- nomenon. In the chemonuclear fusion scenario this is explained by a number of causes. The main of them are: 1. Nuclear energy generated in the process of fu- sion is taken by conversion electrons. Thereby a main potential gamma-radiation source in the cold fusion experiments is eliminated. 2. Nuclear fission process, the second potential ra- dioactivity source under cold fusion conditions, goes with the intensity lower by 10 orders, as compared to the first-group phenomena and, as was noted above, is not accompanied by formation of radioactive frag- ments and emission of gamma-quanta, electrons and energetic heavy particles (see p. 1, Sec. 16). 3. Under conditions of an anomalous high local density of the fusion reaction, as it often takes place in the cold fusion processes, the radioactivity caused by the nuclear rearrangement, has a tendency to de- crease due to the lifetime reducing and to the nuclide ”burning”, as their nuclei are enriched with neutrons. So, the chemonuclear fusion scenario adequately explains the causes of a low radioactivity in the cold fusion experiments, therefore, the assertion, made in some articles, that the residual radioactivity in these experiments is absent in all the cases is not valid. This is confirmed by the reactions from Tab. 7 and by many experimental data [3]. For example, in the well-prepared experiments by Savvatimova [173], during the gas discharge in deu- terium, the γ-activity of tungsten and tantalum cath- odes was observed at a high reliability level. The ex- periments show that the gamma-radiation does not cease even after discharge stopping. And the radia- tion has the same spectral distribution of lines (with significantly less line intensity) as in the gas discharge process. Generation of lighter nuclides than the ones cath- ode material consists, discovered in the gas-discharge experiments, is in good conformity with an idea of bineutron reaction with output of nuclides and nu- clide clusters. In our electrolysis and gas-discharge experiments with deuterium we have also observed more than once the residual radioactivity of discharge zone elements at a level of 5 sigma and above[120]. Our investigation of the residual radioactivity in the gas-discharge cell (palladium cathode and anode), done after the experiment with gas discharge in deu- terium [174], permitted to reveal in the γ-spectrum a series of induced activity lines. The most intense lines belong to the decay products of radon-222 and radon- 220 - Pb-214, Bi-214 and Pb-212. Activity of the brightest lines, in comparison with the background, was increased in the experiment by a factor of 2.5...3. Earlier we have shown [175] that under gas dis- charge conditions the processes of radon-222 decay product concentration on the charged surfaces might took place that causes spurious effects of the nuclear processes occurrence in these experiments. In [174, 186] it is shown that besides the processes consid- ered in [175] in the formation of an increased activity of radon decay products also participate the nuclear processes. The presence of nuclear reactions (see Tab. 7) under conditions of deuterium chemonuclear fusion is confirmed by the change of the palladium iso- tope composition discovered in our experiment [174]. Fig. 13 and Tab. 10 present the data on the change of the isotope composition in the palladium cath- ode surface layer [174]. As would be expected, in the course of gas discharge the palladium isotope composition is appreciably changing (see Tab. 10). 106 Fig.13. [174]. Change of the isotope composition of the palladium cathode surface in the experiment on the gas discharge in deuterium In the spectrum of the experiment [174] also the line of 46Pd109m, E = 0, 189 MeV is reliably observed. This nuclide was formed as a result of neutron cap- ture by the nuclide 46Pd108. The histogram in Fig. 13 and Tab. 10 confirm the presence of this process and show that under condi- tions of the gas discharge experiment in deuterium the 46Pd106 concentration increases from 27.3% to 42.3%, and the 46Pd108 isotope concentration de- creases from 26.7% to 18.4%. The change of the isotope composition of palladium qualitatively cor- relates with the cross-section value of the neutron capture on deuterium isotopes [48]. The evidence for this process is also the nuclide 47Ag109 production in the deuterium discharge experiment as a result of the nuclide 46Pd109∗ β-decay that is noted in several papers [3]. Table 10. Change of the palladium isotope composition in the course of the gas-discharge experiment in deuterium [174] Pd isotope 102 104 105 106 107 108 110 Natural Pd isotope abundance, % 1 11 22.2 27.3 - 26.7 11.8 Pd isotope abundance after experiment, % - 2.3 20.7 42.3 4.7 18.4 11.5 In conclusion note that the satisfactory fit be- tween the results expected from the reactions of Tab. 7 and the results reliably established in the cold fusion experiment, demonstrated in this para- graph, can be considered as an experimental proof of the weak-interaction reaction participation in the cold fusion processes, and the above-mentioned chemonuclear scenario as a model of this process. Chapter 2. CHEMONUCLEAR FUSION IN THE NATURAL HYDROGEN-NICKEL SYSTEM (HD-CHEMONUCLEAR FUSION REACTION) 2.1. Anomalous effects in the natural hydrogen-metal system The first claim for an excess heat release in nickel samples exposed to natural hydrogen was from Pi- antelli [3] in 1990. In 1991 Mills et al. [12] discovered the excess heat effect in electrolysis experiments with the use of a nickel cathode and normal water solution of K2CO3 as an electrolyte. In succeeding years the heat excess in electrolysis experiments with natural hydrogen has been observed by many researches [107- 110]. A positive influence on the thermal effect of the heavy water addition into the light-water electrolyte was discovered in [109, 112, 113]. A nuclear nature of this phenomenon is favourably evidenced by the occurrence of nuclear transmutation processes in the light-water experiments [108, 109], tritium production [112] and X-ray and gamma emis- sion [110, 111]. Also a series of experiments on the natural hydrogen-nickel system have been carried out. The heat generation in nickel treated by different meth- ods and exposed to hot hydrogen was, more than once, observed in experiments by Focardi et al. [114- 116]. In some cases these experiments were accom- panied by the gamma emission and nuclear transmu- tation. Most frequently the anomalous phenomena happened in experiments using the nickel sample with a nanocrystalline surface structure formed as a result of nickel treatment, or when the nickel sample was a fill of nickel nanopowder. Formation of nanocrys- talline surface structures on the surface of transition metals in the natural hydrogen-metal systems is a 107 main subject of Patent by Piantelli: ”Method for Pro- ducing Energy and Apparatus Therefor” [188]. However, as is mentioned above, the problem on anomalous phenomena in the cold fusion experiments with the use of hydrogen was studied much worse than in the experiments with deuterium. A theory that might pretend to explain the cold fusion phe- nomenon is not developed. As it has been noted, the problem complexity consists in that the p− p system has no bound states. Nuclear reactions in this system are possible only with participation of weak interac- tions and have in vacuum an extremely low intensity (Sec. 15, Ch. 1). On the other hand, the reaction of direct proton- nucleus interaction in nickel suppressed by the high Coulomb barrier also has a maximally low probability to occur under these conditions (∼ 4.7 ·10−1059 [15]). Moreover, as is noted in [190], the p − Ni reaction, running with intensity necessary to explain a thermal effect in experiments on the hydrogen-nickel system, if it might take place owing to any case, is accompa- nied by emission of hard gamma-rays, never observed till now, in doses mortal for a living organism. At the same time, as is shown in Chapter 1, in the deuterium-saturated conducting condensed sub- stance there are existing factors (chemofactors) ca- pable, under appropriate conditions, to intensify car- dinally nuclear processes in the deuterium-metal sys- tem. Protium and deuterium are isotopes of the same chemical element, namely, hydrogen, therefore the protium behavior should be similar, in many respects, to the deuterium behavior under like conditions. Be- low a hypothetic scenario of nuclear reactions in the natural hydrogen-nickel system, developed proceed- ing from above statements, is described. 2.2. HD fusion chemonuclear scenario The DD fusion chemonuclear model presented in Sec. 9-11 Ch. 1 describes well the deuteron-particle (deuteron-boson) interaction and is not applicable to the fermion-formed systems as in the case of the proton-proton system. However, in the natural hydrogen-nickel system, hydrogen always contains a trace of deuterium (0.015%). Table 11. Nuclear reactions in the HD fusion scenario (p+ + e− + d+) →3 Heg.s. + Q1(ẽ − conv.) ; (1) (p+ + e− + d+ + e− + p+) → (3He∗ + e−) + p → (3Heg.s. + Q1(ẽ − conv.) + p) → →3 Heg.s. + n + νe ; (2) (n + p) → d + Q3(ẽ − conv.); (2.1) (n +x 28 Ni) →x 28 Ni∗ →x+1 28 Nig.s. + Q4(ẽ − conv. + γ); (2.2) (p+ + e− + d+ + e− + p+ + e− + p+) → (3He∗ + e−) + (p+ + e− + p+) →3 Heg.s. + d + νe; (3) | + 2p → 2d + Q3(ẽ − conv.); (3.1) | +x 28 Ni →x+2 28 Ni∗ →x+2 28 Nig.s. + Q6(ẽ − conv. + γ); (3.2) | +x 28 Ni →x+2 28 Ni∗ →x−2 26 Fe + α(9− 14 MeV ); (3.3) d + ẽ−conv. →2 n → 〈 | +x 28 Ni →x+2 28 Ni∗ →x+1 27 Co + p(6.77 and 10.24 MeV ); (3.4) | +x 28 Ni →x+2 28 Ni∗ →x+1 28 Ni + n(6.98 and 8.19 MeV ); (3.5) | Nu1; | +x 28 Ni →x+2 28 Ni∗ → f 〈 (3.6) | Nu2. d +2 n → T (1.56 MeV ) + n (4.64 MeV )− d + T (1.56 MeV ) → α (6.9− 1.44 MeV ) + n (12.5− 17.7 MeV ); (4) 3 2He + n →3 1 H(0.191 MeV ) +1 1 p(0.573 MeV ). (5) In Tab. 11 the symbol Qn(ẽ−konv) denotes the exci- tation energy of nucleus Qn taken by the conversion electrons (ẽ−konv). This provides in the ionized hydrogen the forma- tion of natural (p+ + e− + d+)- clusters the behavior of which can be described (after adequate correction) by our DD chemonuclear model. In the Gryzinski tunneling mechanism by the HD scenario a system takes part with participation of proton, electron and deuteron, and short-living formations: (p++e−+d+) as a quasi-molecule and (3He∗ + e−) as an electron- modified compound-nucleus. Tab. 11 presents the nuclear reactions which, in accordance with this pnd+ cluster property, can occur in the natural hydrogen-loaded condensed substance. In Table 11 only the pd+-, p2d +-, p3d +- clusters and alone nickel target, as a target, are entered that per- mitted to decrease the table size. Note some features of the HD chemonuclear fu- sion scenario. 1. An astrophysical factor of the (p− d) reaction is in 1.5 · 10−5 times lower than that of the (d − d) reaction [121]. However, the value of the reduced mass for the (p − d) reaction is significantly less, as compared with the (d− d) reaction (see [119]). Con- sequently, in the range of low particle energy values, being of interest to us, a probability for the (p−d) re- action to occur in vacuum is two orders of magnitude higher than that for the (d − d) reaction. The low value of the reduced mass would be expected to be 108 a favourable factor for the HD chemonuclear fusion scenario too, as compared to the DD chemonuclear fusion. 2. In the HD chemonuclear fusion scenario the heat generation is accompanied by the helium-3 pro- duction by the reaction (1) Tab. 11. However, ac- cording to Tab. 11 in the HD chemonuclear fusion process the reactions accompanied by the neutron and tritium production are participating too. Un- der these conditions the real helium-3 concentration will be determined by the concurrence of reactions (1.1) and (2.2), Tab. 11, on the one hand, and re- action (4) of this table, on the other hand. In this case the helium-3 production decrease will be com- pensated by the tritium production increase. A high intensity of this process is promoted by the exception- ally high value of neutron capture on 3He nucleus (for thermal neutrons σtherm. = 5330 barns). 3. Reaction (1), Tab. 11 occurs without nuclear bond breakages and therefore this reaction, similarly to the DD reaction by channel 3, Tab. 1 (Sec. 9-11, Ch. 1), will get an intensive character under favor- able conditions. A low value of the reaction cross- section in vacuum is related with the infinitesimal nucl, determined by the γ-quantum radiation [4]. Un- der conditions of HD chemonuclear scenario, as in the case of DD-scenario, the participation in the nu- clear fusion process of a ”captured” electron and core electrons cardinally increase the yield of reaction (1), Tab. 11. Reaction (1), Tab. 11 being under strong interactions and extremely enhanced by the medium chemofactors, is a prime cause and a source of nuclear process energy in the pd+-, p2d +- and p3d +-clusters in the natural hydrogen-nickel system. 4. The factor restricting the prospects of natural hydrogen use in the high-power chemonuclear energy installations is a low initial deuterium content. There are two ways to get over this complicating factor. The first way is to develop low-power energy in- stallations using natural hydrogen in which burned deuterium will be compensated by filling in time a fresh fuel - natural hydrogen. A present-day techno- logical knowledge gives every reason to consider the problem of the low-power energy installation develop- ing as a principally feasible idea. The energy reserve in natural hydrogen, resulting from reaction (1), Ta- ble 11, equals to 3.6 · 1012 J/cm3 under pressure of 1 at. Note, for comparison, that the energy reserve in methane under the same pressure is lower by a factor of 90. The second way of problem solving is to create conditions under which in the HD-scenario the reac- tions responsible for the deuterium recovery will be intensified. To date this approach is not adequately investigated neither theoretically not experimentally. However, the results of the recently published paper by Szpak, Dea [189] (see Sec. 3, Ch. 2) demonstrate that in the cold fusion experiments, with the use of a ”codeposition” technology, the conditions of deu- terium breeding are spontaneously fulfilled. Let us appreciate the opportunity of deuterium recovery in the chemonuclear HD-fusion scenario. In accordance with the HD-scenario the deu- terium recovery in the natural hydrogen-nickel sys- tem is realized by reactions [(2) - (2.1)], (3) and (3.1), (Table 11). Reactions (2) and (3) occur with partic- ipation of weak interactions and, consequently, have a low intensity. The process of deuterium breeding in this case means that there are steady conditions for cardinal intensification of weak-interaction reac- tions due to strong-interaction reactions by the mech- anism described in Sec. 15, Ch. 1. At the initial stage the energy source in this process will be the reac- tion of interaction between the proton contained in the HD-cluster and deuteron. As the deuterium con- centration increases the contribution of higher-energy DD-reactions to this process becomes more and more significant. It would be expected, also, that in this case in the system maximally realized are all the advantages of the HD chemonuclear fusion scenario: cluster nature of fusion - fusion reaction in the structure of a cluster being accelerated and aligned in the quasi-molecule electron core; effective conversion process of nuclear excitation energy de-excitation; little reduced mass of reacting particles etc. In addition, of a particular importance might be a factor of the effective use of conversion electrons. In- sulating properties of the matrix forming a microac- celerator in mechanism (3.3...3.4) (Sec. 3, Ch. 1), are determined by a number of accelerated clusters per 1 event of nuclear fusion. In the matrix, having high insulating properties, this number will be significant that will have a favorable effect on the deuterium gain factor. 5. According to the fusion chemonuclear sce- nario the generation of accelerated particles in the hydrogen-nickel system is realized by the nanostruc- ture mechanisms, in particular, microaccelerating mechanism (Sec. 3, Ch. 1). The reaction zone in these cases has a limited volume (for the microaccelerating mechanism it can be 10−7...10−10 cm3) and a rela- tively high isolation from the main volume. Thus, the deuterium concentration in the reaction volume increases more rapidly and the latent period of the power gaining process reduces in 103...106 times. The fact that in many light-water experiments one did not observed anomalous nuclear processes can be ex- plained by the circumstance that the reaction volume in those cases was not isolated from the main volume [3, 120]. Beginning from some deuterium concentra- tion the decisive contribution to the power genera- tion will be given by the DD-fusion reactions with a 4He generation as a fusion product. A factor condi- tioning a high power gain rate of in this case will in- clude both the deuterium concentration and the much higher heat of the dd-reaction, as compared to the pd-reaction (23.8 MeV and 5.5 MeV , respectively). As is noted in Sec. 3, Ch. 1 the participation of conversion electrons in the chemonuclear fusion, as well as, the cluster fusion mechanism itself provide the process efficiency increase with its power increase. 109 The latter should be taken into account when solving the problem of chemonuclear fusion use in practice. 2.3. HD chemonuclear fusion scenario - cold fusion in the natural hydrogen-metal system Application of the HD chemonuclear scenario for explanation of cold fusion phenomena in the nat- ural hydrogen-metal system will be demonstrated on the example of a recently published large article by Szpak S. and Dea J. ”Evidence for the Induction of Nuclear Activity in Polarized Pd/H + H2O System” [189]. Below a brief description of the paper is given. 2.3.1. Experimental technique and equipment Fig.14. [189]. Electrochemical cell: 1 - CR-39 detector outside the cell, 2 - CR-39 detector inside the cell, 3 - neodymium magnets, 4 - magnet holder. 14a - Cathode assembly In experiments of [189] the device presented in Fig. 14 was used. A rectangular vessel made of clear plastic served as an electrochemical cell. The cathode as- sembly is shown in Fig. 14,a. A platinum wire in the shape indicated in Fig. 14,a was used as a substrate for the Pd/H film deposition by the codeposition method. The codeposition is a process by which palladium is deposited, with hydrogen presence in the solution, onto the substrate that does not absorb hydrogen (here the platinum wire). The structure of the electrodeposited palladium is given by the electrolyte composition and the cur- rent regime and can have a complicated branched surface pattern (Fig. 15). In experiments the water solutions 0.03 M PdCl and 0.3 M LiCl were used as an electrolyte. The procedure of film formation was a many-hour electrolysis with a stepwise current inten- sity increase from 1.0 mA · cm−2 at the initial stage to 30 mA · cm−2 at the final stage of the process for- mation. Then the cell was placed into the external magnetic field (0.2 T ) (Fig. 14-4) and the cyclic oper- ating mode of the experiment was set: imax=400mA for 90 s and imin=5mA for the following 5 s. In the course of experiments the neutron recording was per- formed by two CR-39 detectors fastened inside the cell (2) and by an external detector (1) (Fig. 14). Fig.15. [189]. Electron-microscope image of the electrode surface: (a) with no magnetic field, (b) with applied magnetic field 2.3.2. Experimental results The results obtained in [189] clearly show that in the course of the experiment intensive nuclear processes take place. Mass-spectrometric analysis of the gas dissolved in the cathode reliably confirms the fact that in the course of the experiment the isotope gas composition is changing. In all the cases after the experiment in the gas a dominant component was deuterium and the detected amount of tritium was negligible. As a rule, the D/H atomic ratio was above a unity. In some cases the deuterium amount exceeded the protium amount by a factor of five. Fig.16. [189]. Images of tracks, formed in the course of the experiment in CR − 39 detectors: (a) distribution of tracks, 40 x, (b) tracks at different angles of incidence, 500 x, (c) single track,1000 x, (d) double track, 500 x Fig. 16 shows typical images of tracks recorded in these experiments by the CR-39 detectors. The track nature is similar for all the detectors, but the track density is much higher for the detector located for- ward of the cathode. This confirms the fact that in the course of codeposition the fast neutrons are produced and that the processes responsible for the neutron generation occur in the cathode region. In three cases out of ten ones the experiments were in- terrupted because of catastrophic thermal effects. In 110 one case after three days of electrolysis with a current in the cell varying between 300 and 5 mA · cm−2, a catastrophic heat release has happened and caused the cell deformation and electrolyte loss as a result of evaporation and leaking through the punctured cell bottom (Fig.17). Fig.17. [189]. Damaged cell bottom: (a) outside view, (b) inside view. Arrows indicate the damage areas About 1/3 of the total cell bottom area (Fig. 17) was damaged because a very hot ob- ject came in contact with plastic material. Fig.18. [189]. Temperature profile during the thermal explosion Fig. 18 shows the electrolyte temperature records made for the period of catastrophic thermal ex- plosion. The rapid electrolyte heating (2.6◦C/s) shown in the curve (DE part) is the evidence of the catastrophic heat release in this period. Basing on the analysis of the electrolyte heating curve the au- thors of [189] concluded that in the course of the experiment the energy of more than 10 eV/Pd atom was released, that significantly exceeds the heat gen- eration of chemical reactions. In the process of ther- mal explosion the cathode was damaged. Fig. 19,a presents the SEM photo illustrating the separation of the PdD film from the Pt substrate obtained by the author of [189] in the experiment with deuterium. Fig. 19,b shows the tracks of transmutation processes taking place at the interface. The au- thors assert that a similar picture was also ob- served in the experiment with hydrogen. In con- clusion the authors of [189] compare the scale and character of the catastrophic thermal phe- nomena observed in their light-water experi- ment with the results of heavy-water experiments carried out earlier by other authors [8, 9, 195]. Fig.19. [189]. SEM photo illustrating the Pd/H film separation from the Pt substrate They concluded that for all these experiments the phenomenon has a nuclear nature of the same type and that the effect value is proportional to the palla- dium amount used in the experiment. At the same time, one can see that the HD fu- sion chemonuclear scenario, described in the forego- ing paragraph, explains satisfactorily, at a qualita- tive level, the results of experiment [189]. A high level of nuclear activity observed in the experiment [189] proves that the hypothetic factors (Sec. 2 Ch. 2) of chemonuclear process efficiency increase under ex- perimental conditions of [189] are completely realized. However, in this case a high level of the nuclear ac- tivity can be determined, first of all, by the specific character of deposit formation on the cathode. In the process of ionic compound settling-out from the electrolyte and deposit formation a metal-insulator structure will be created being optimum for the deu- terium fusion running by microaccelerating mecha- nisms 3.3 and 3.4 (Sec. 3, Ch. 1). It is necessary to consider more particularly the catastrophic thermal phenomena, which has interrupted three times the experimental procedure in [189]. In Sec. 2, Ch. 2 we have paid attention to the positive process efficiency increase with its power increase that is peculiar to the chemonuclear scenario. This can be one of causes for anomalous thermal phenomena. However, the catastrophic thermal phenomena observed in [189] can be also provoked by causes directly related with the target structure features and the target state un- der conditions of the experiment. As is mentioned above, the target surface in the experiment with ”codeposition” has a complicated branched nature. The internal surface of electrolyte-filled coating voids practically does not participate in the chemonuclear fusion process by our model and is a potential energy source continuously increasing with the deuterium concentration increase. At the same time, during the experiment a continuous deuterium generation occurs that is accompanied by the heat generation density increase and cathode temperature rise. As a result, when the deuterium concentration in the coat- ing amounts to certain level and there are thermal fluctuations in the cathode points with a maximum local temperature, then the electrolyte in the coat- 111 ing voids reaches the boiling temperature, evaporates and the voids ”dry out”. On the internal surface of voids an insulating film is growing of the LiCl and PdCl compounds deposited from the electrolyte, and the voids are filled up with gas, desorbed from the coating, containing a high deuterium concentration. Thereby, in the voids created are conditions, being optimum for the fusion initiation by the microaccel- erating mechanism (see p.3.3, 3.4 of Sec. 3 Ch. 1), and DD- and HD-fusion processes take part accompa- nied by the heat release according to our model. The fusion process by this scheme extends onto the neigh- boring cathode parts, rapidly develops and results in the catastrophic thermal events described in [189]. 2.4. HD chemonuclear fusion and abundance of tritium and helium isotopes on the Earth Let us consider how the HD chemonuclear fusion scenario can explain the anomalies in the abundance of tritium and helium isotopes in the Earth. Tab. 12, taken from [191], gives the data on the content of tritium and helium isotopes in different volcanic lakes of the world. Analyzing the data of Table 12 the authors of [191] come to a conclusion that: ” The excess 3H correlate fairly well with man- tle helium (3He) in each lake ”, and further ”...we suppose that the 3H and 3He might be produced by Table 12. Helium and tritium content in volcanic lakes [191] V olcaniclake 3Heex/4Heex, 3He concentration, 3He flow, Excessof 3H, 10−6 Cair mol/m2 · c TU Laacher (Germany) 7.42 50 1.2 · 10−16 ∼ 1.4 Nemrut (Turkey) 10.1 190 ∼ 1 · 10−16 3.7 V an (Turkey) 12 1.5 6 · 10−18 ∼ 0.9 Panvin (France) 9 500 9 · 10−18 ∼ 4 Cair - atmospheric helium-3 content in water; Average (global) value of 3He flow: 6.6 · 10...20 mol/m2 · s, TU - single tritium atom per 1018 hydrogen atoms. nuclear fusion (d−d reaction) occurring in an environ- ment of enriched H atoms and (U + Th) deep in the earth, at high temperatures and preesure. The phys- ical mechanism of natural fusion in the deep Earth, however, remains an open question.” In our opinion it will be more reasonable to ex- plain the results of Tab. 12 with attracting the HD chemonuclear fusion by our model. Then it would not need to consider the most difficult-to-explain part in the discussion of results given in Tab. 12 [191], i.e. generation and concentration of deuterium in the Earth interior and creation in it conditions for the hot DD-fusion realization. At the same, the spontaneous formation of conditions for initiation of charged par- ticle acceleration mechanisms by our models (3)-(4) (Sec. 3 Ch. 1), in the small parts of the earth’s crust below volcanic lakes, seems to us a much more prob- able process. A favourable circumstance here is the fact that for generation of very weak helium-3 flows observed in the experiments a very low intensity of reaction (1), Tab. 11 is required. CONCLUSIONS Analysis of multiple experimental results obtained to date in the field of research, conventionally named as ”deuterium cold fusion”, shows that there is no doubt that the cold fusion phenomenon really exists and is very promising for practical applications. ”Damnation”, in one’s time declared by the tradi- tional science to this direction of research, was a nat- ural reaction since in that period the researchers of the cold fusion frequently explained this phenomenon as a synthesis of deuterium nuclei in the solid lattice under equilibrium conditions at a room temperature. At the same time, in the traditional physics there are generally accepted fundamental prohibitions of such processes occurrence. Taking into account the foregoing and regarding the results of cold fusion experiments (and results of our own experiments) as trustworthy ones, we have focused efforts onto the study of real conditions under which this phenomenon happens. The present paper contains the results of our investigations. As it follows from the present paper, we have suc- ceeded in discovering a chain of interrelated partic- ular chemical, physical and nuclear phenomena ca- pable under corresponding conditions to accelerate cardinally the nuclear processes in the deuterium- metal system. A mechanism for stimulation of weak- interaction reactions due to the strong-interaction re- actions under chemonuclear fusion conditions is of- fered. The above-mentioned fusion scenario can not be completely described within the framework of ear- lier accepted definitions and has been named a deu- terium chemonuclear fusion scenario. The chemonu- clear fusion scenario developed in the present paper is of a hypothetic qualitative character and requires an adequate quantitative treatment and thorough ex- perimental and theoretical investigations. 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Предложен механизм стимулирования в условиях хемоядерного синтеза дейтерия реакций слабого взаимодействия за счёт реакций сильного взаимодействия. Рассмотренные в работе результаты многочисленных опытов свидетельствуют в пользу достоверности хемоядерного синтеза. Делается вывод о том, что сценарий хемоядерного синтеза дейтерия в том виде, как он представлен в работе, может служить основанием для разворачивания работ по глубокому изучению и освоению этого экологически чистого источника энергии. Показано, что система с участием природного водоро- да, содержащего 0.015% дейтерия, также имеет серьезные перспективы для использования в качестве источника энергии. Процессы хемоядерного сценария синтеза не требуют для своего объяснения вы- хода за рамки традиционной физики. ЯДЕРНI ПРОЦЕСИ В СИСТЕМАХ ДЕЙТЕРIЙ/ПРИРОДНИЙ ВОДЕНЬ-МЕТАЛ В.Ф.Зеленський Представленi результати аналiзу явищ, що мають мiсце в умовах дослiдiв холодного синтезу в системах дейтерiй-метал i природний водень-метал. Показано, що генерування в дослiдах холодного синтезу в системi дейтерiй-метал тепла i гелiю без емiсiї енергiйних гамма-квантiв – результат протiкання в цiй системi ланцюжка хiмiчних, фiзичних i ядерних процесiв, що завершуються злиттям ядер дейтерiю i утворенням модифiкованого електроном вiртуального, збудженого ядра гелiю-4. Енергiя збудження яд- ра гелiю передається матрицi емiсiєю конверсiйних електронiв, що при вiдповiдних умовах забезпечує незгасаючий процес синтезу дейтерiю. Процеси в системi дейтерiй/природний водень-метал отримали назву – хемоядерний DD-i HD-синтез. Запропоновано механiзм стимулювання в умовах хемоядерного синтезу дейтерiю реакцiй слабкої взаємодiї за рахунок реакцiй сильної взаємодiї. Розглянутi в робо- тi результати численних дослiдiв свiдчать на користь достовiрностi хемоядерного синтезу. Робиться висновок про те, що сценарiй хемоядерного синтезу дейтерiю в тому виглядi, як вiн представлений в роботi, може служити пiдставою для розгортання робiт з глибокого вивчення й освоєння цього еколо- гiчно чистого джерела енергiї. Показано, що система за участю природного водню, що мiстить 0.015 % дейтерiю, також має серйознi перспективи для використання в якостi джерела енергiї. Процеси хемо- ядерного сценарiю синтезу не вимагають для свого пояснення виходити за рамки традицiйної фiзики. 118