MUON-CATALYZED FUSION IN DEUTERIUM AT 3 K

Muon-catalyzed fusion in deuterium has traditionally been studied in g aseous and liquid targets. The TRIUMF solid hydrogen layer target syst em has been used to study the fusion reaction rates in the solid phase at a target temperature of 3 K. Both branches of the cycle were obser ved; neutrons by a liquid organic scintillator, and protons by a silic on detector located inside the target system. The effective molecular formation rate from the upper hyperfine state and the spin exchange ra te have been measured, and information on the branching ratio paramete rs has been extracted.