Fusion rates for hydrogen isotopic molecules of relevance for "cold fusion"

Abstract

In response to the recent announcements of evidence for room-temperature fusion in the electrolysis of D{sub 2}O, we have analyzed how the fusion rate depends on the reduced mass of the fusing nuclei, the effective mass of a heavy'' electron, and the degree of vibrational excitation. Our results have been obtained both by accurately solving the Schroedinger equation for the hydrogen molecule and by using the WKB approximation. We find that in light of the reported {ital d}-{ital d} fusion rate, the excess heat in the experiment by Fleischmann, Pons, and Hawkins (J. Electroanal. Chem. 261, 301 (1989)) is difficult to explain in terms of conventional nuclear processes.