Low Energy Nuclear Reactions Through Weak Interactions

Abstract

We consider the possibility that low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) arise due to the conversion of proton to neutron through weak interactions. The resulting neutron forms a short-lived virtual state, which then gets captured by another nucleus through photon emission. This whole process happens under the framework of second-order perturbation theory. We find that the rate of this process is negligibly small in most cases. However, in the presence of a resonance, the rate can be substantial and observable.