Effects of intramolecular dynamics on nuclear fusion rates and sticking from resonant states of the molecular iondtμ

Several resonances of s symmetry in the continuum of the muonic molecule dtμ that cluster below the (tμ${)}_{2\mathit{s}}$+d threshold have been analyzed. It has been found that the fusion rates for some of these states are comparable with their Coulomb decay rates, and that the associated sticking probability is approximately 1 order of magnitude lower than that of the ground state. This feature indicates that muon-catalyzed fusion might proceed more efficiently if it were occurring from the resonant states formed from the excited (n=2) states of muonic atoms.