Nuclear reactions in deuterated palladium and rhenium irradiated by γ quanta with a continuous spectrum at a threshold energy of 23 MeV in dense deuterium gas

Abstract

The element composition of Pd and Re samples in dense deuterium gas irradiated by γ quanta with a continuous spectrum and a threshold energy of 23 MeV has been studied. Considerable anomalies are discovered in the structure and element composition of irradiated samples. Substantial changes are observed at both ends of the Pd and Re wires in the form of blowouts of molten metal with a complex chemical composition resembling congealed solar protuberances. The surface of Pd and Re wires proved to be covered with 1-2-μm particles predominantly composed of rhenium oxide Re2O7. Near the cracks on the surface, these particles are crystallized in the form of small hexagonal crystallites composed of rhenium, carbon, and oxygen. The entire surface of rhenium is cracked and covered by a thick layer of the RexCy compound. A brief description of the phenomenological model of nuclear reactions leading to the observed anomalies is given.