Experimental signatures of a new channel of the DD reaction at very-low energy

Abstract

The discovery of a new, strong reaction channel of the deuteron-deuteron fusion at very low energies might have major consequences for the construction of a future clean and efficient energy source. Following the first theoretical and experimental indications for the existence of the deuteron-deuteron threshold resonance in the $^4$He nucleus and its dominant decay by the internal $e^+e^-$ pair creation, we present here an extensive experimental study confirming emission of high-energy electrons and positrons. A simultaneous use of Si charged particle detectors of different thicknesses and large volume NaI(Tl) and HPGe detectors has allowed for the first time to determine the branching ratio between emitted protons, neutrons and $e^+e^-$ pairs for deuteron energies down to 5 keV. The high-energy positrons could be unambiguously detected by their bremsstrahlung spectra and annihilation radiation, supported by the Monte Carlo Geant4 simulations. The theoretical calculations, based on a destructive interference between the threshold resonance and the known broad resonance in $^4$He, agree very well with experimentally observed increase of branching ratios for lowering projectile energies. The partial width of the threshold resonance for the $e^+e^-$ pair creation should be at least 10 times larger than that of the proton channel.