Decay modes of excited 4 He below the fragmentation levels

Three reasons are given to dispute the claims of numerous experimenters that higher-thanexpected heat and radiation are obtained from nuclear fusion of deuterium atoms at room temperature: 1) the inability of two low-energy protons or deuterons to penetrate the mutual Coulomb barrier; 2) the production of heat in excess of that possible for the measured particulate radiation, and 3) the high levels of 4 He measured (much beyond that permitted by present nuclear physics models). The first has been addressed earlier. This paper discusses the second and how it leads to an understanding of a critical mechanism behind low-energy nuclear reactions.