Abstract
A number of popular extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics predict the existence of doubly charged scalar particles . Such particles may be long lived or even stable. If they exist, could form atomic bound states with light nuclei and catalyze their fusion by essentially eliminating the Coulomb barrier between them. Such an -catalyzed fusion () process does not require high temperatures or pressure and may have important applications for energy production. A similar process of muon-catalyzed fusion has been shown not to be a viable source of energy because of the sticking of negative muons to helium nuclei produced in the fusion of hydrogen isotopes, which stops the catalytic process. We analyze in deuterium environments and show that the particles can only stick to nuclei, which are produced in the third-stage reactions downstream in the catalytic cycle. The corresponding sticking probability is very low and, before getting bound to , each particle can catalyze fusion cycles, producing of energy. We also discuss the ways of reactivating the particles from the Coulomb-bound () states, which would allow reusing them in reactions.
- Received 13 October 2021
- Accepted 15 July 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.106.035013
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.
Published by the American Physical Society