3.7.5 The CF-Matter－Neutron Drops in Thin
Neutron Gas Formed in Solids
Neutrons in solids are not
fully investigated until now perhaps because of their short lifetime of about
887 seconds in the free space [Case 1998]. However, the wave nature of the low
energy neutron has been used more widely in technology (the neutron guide and
others) and science (the neutron trap to study nature of neutrons). From our
point of view, however, the research is in an infantile stage and we have much work
to do in studying neutron physics in solids, especially fcc
transition-metal hydrides and deuterides.
Thus, we can expect new states
of neutrons in transition-metal hydrides and deuterides when there is an
optimum situation where several conditions are fulfilled to realize the neutron
valence bands below zero as discussed above and also expect new phenomena
related to the neutron valence band.
Several words should be added
about the states of neutrons in the boundary regions in solids. At boundaries
of a crystal, there is aperiodicity of the crystal lattice and disturbance to
the neutron Bloch waves. There appear new states due to the disturbance such as
surface states different from the Bloch states with different energies. We
ignore, however, occurrence of these states in this treatment and confine our
investigation to the neutron Bloch waves.
As was noticed in Chapter 2,
there is much evidence of nuclear reactions in CFP that is difficult to explain
without participation of neutrons, including those called decay-time shortening
and NT in surface layers of electrodes in electrolytic systems and in surface
regions of cathodes in discharge systems. In the TNCF model, this surface
nature of CFP is taken into the model by the instability factor ξ of the trapped neutron
assuming a value 1 (ξ = 1) in the surface layer and
0.01 (ξ = 0.01) in volume (Section 3.2).
(a) Condensation of Neutrons－Formation of CF-Matter
The neutron drops [Kozima
2000a] made of high-density neutrons together with occluded protons (deuterons)
in the boundary region of fcc and hcp transition-metal hydrides/deuterides
have similarity to the Coulomb lattice of neutron drops in the neutron star
matter [Negele 1973]. This formation of stable neutron states in lattice nuclei,
based on the excited neutron states in lattice nuclei mediated by occluded
protons/deuterons in solids, is a characteristic of the system of lattice
nuclei in fcc and hcp transition-metal hydrides/deuterides.
Even if the excited neutron
states in lattice nuclei are unstable, neutrons entered into the neutron band
instantaneously become stable forming neutron drops in the boundary/surface
regions and accumulate there. The cf-matter, i.e. neutron drops in a thin
neutron gas at boundary/surface regions may interact with exotic nuclei there
to induce new kinds of nuclear reactions in the boundary/surface regions that
may be observed in phenomena such as the cold fusion phenomenon (CFP) in fcc
and hcp transition-metal hydrides and deuterides [Fleischmann 1989,
Kozima 1997a, 1998a].
Thus, the role of hydrogen
isotopes in the CFP is, from the viewpoint of our model, (1) to establish the
trapping condition of thermal neutrons by their inhomogeneous distribution in
solids, (2) to participate in reactions with neutrons (n-d
reactions) and each other (d(ε)-d reactions) if
accelerated by energetic particles, (3) to mediate super-nuclear interaction
between neutrons (n-d-n interaction), and (4) to
participate in formation of the neutron drop AZΔ
in the boundary/surface regions where there appears the local coherence of
neutron Bloch waves.
3.7.6 Neutron Drop Model
of CFP
When
there are neutron drops in cf-matter formed around surface/boundary regions by
the mechanism discussed above, we can use the neutron drop AZΔand
a small neutron-proton cluster AZδin
the nuclear reactions as a simultaneous feeder of several nucleons to nuclides;
AZΔ+
A’Z’X → A – a Z– zΔ+
A’ + a Z’ + zX’*,
→ A – a Z– zΔ + A’ + a– a’ Z’
+ z– z’X’’+ a’z’X’’’, (3.7-18)
A’Z’Δ+
A+ 1 ZX* → A’Z’Δ* + A + 1ＺX → A’Z’Δ+
A + 1ＺX +
x, (3.7-19)
A’Z’δ+
AZX → A + A’Z + Z’X* → A + A’Z + Z’X + x. (3.7-20)
The neutron-proton
cluster AZδ is supposed to be a unit of
nucleons absorbed at the same time by a nuclide to form a new nuclide as in Eq.
(3.7-20).
In the reactions
(3.7-19) and (3.7-20), the symbol x means not a γphoton in the free space but
another particle (a neutron or a neutron-proton cluster) in cf-matter [Kozima
2004b].
3.7.7 Experimental Data
explained by the Neutron Drop Model
There are many data sets we need to use the neutron drop model in their explanation in addition to TNCF model where we used only single neutron transfer into participating nuclides. If we use the neutron drop model, it is possible to transfer several neutrons into a nuclide and also to consider transformation of a neutron drop AZΔinto a nuclide AZX.
As Hora et al. have shown [Hora 1998], the envelope of the yield curve of NT replicates nuclear shell magic numbers and they explained it by their model of swimming electron mechanism. This behavior is also explicable with use of our model; nuclides with nuclear shell magic numbers are stable and their formation probability is higher in the cf-matter formed in surface/boundary regions and the mechanism of nuclear transmutation by transformation (NTT) applies in this case.
Nuclear reactions between
neutron drops and other nuclei are essentially the same as those occurring in the
free space except new dissipation channels of surplus energies. In the free
space, isolated nuclei in their excited states can mainly be de-excited
emitting a gamma photon, or alpha or beta particle in the case of radioactive
nuclei. However, in the case of CF materials, the surplus energies can be
effectively dissipated (or carried away) by surrounding neutron drops and a
thin background neutron gas. These mechanisms result in gamma-less nuclear
reactions and decay-time shortening in CFP. When there occurs nuclear fission
of a nuclide AZX with a large excess number of neutrons (Z
<< A) formed by interaction with a neutron drop, the reaction
becomes mild by the interaction of surrounding neutron drops thus emitting no high-energy
neutrons as shown in Eq. (3.7-20).