Cold fusion: muon-catalysed fusion

The authors put into perspective and further develop their recent work in muon catalysed fusion, with the objective of identifying the key physical processes in the t(d,n) alpha fusion cycle relevant to energy related applications. They begin by discussing the fusion cycle and point out the importance of direct nuclear reactions in the catalysed fusion processes. This is followed by an in-depth discussion of the muon loss reaction by attachment to the fusion alpha -particle. Finally, the authors examine some special topics that have attracted the attention of workers in the muon-catalysed fusion (MuCF) community, such as energy efficient production of muons and proposals for MuCF reactors, the potential of Z>1 fusion, and other recently discussed forms of cold fusion.