ENHANCEMENT OF THE MUON-CATALYZED FUSION CYCLE UNDER LASER IRRADIATION

It is suggested that the rate of the muon-catalyzed fusion cycle can be increased by powerful electromagnetic fields. The fraction of muons reaching the deuterium ground state Q1S can be decreased (thus increasing the fusion cycle) by changing the route of the muon-deexcitation cascade under laser irradiation. The muon cascade is determined by a competition between radiative transitions, external Auger transitions, quenching of the muon levels, and transfer processes. The muon-transfer cross section from the 2S level of deuterium is larger by a factor of about 5 than the transfer cross section from the 2P level. Therefore the following two-step process is proposed in order to enhance the rate of the muon transfer (1): (a) a laser-induced transition between the levels 2P and 2S of the deuterium (b) muon transfer by collisions to the tritium 2S level. The results show that a 0.2-eV laser (the Lamb shift in deuterium) with an intensity of about 109 W/cm2 can decrease the value of Q1S by a factor of 3. © 1990 The American Physical Society.