Isotope Production in Muon-Catalyzed-Fusion Systems

Abstract: Producing valuable isotopes with high-flux high-energy neutrons generated by muon-catalyzed fusion ($μ$CF) reactions could substantially improve the economic prospects for muon-catalyzed fusion. Because no external heating is required for $μ$CF, heat flux constraints are significantly relaxed compared with fusion systems requiring external heating. This could allow $μ$CF to attain much higher neutron flux without breaching material heat flux limits. If muon production rates can be increased, $μ$CF systems employing transmutation could be viable well before energy breakeven is possible. For $μ$CF systems transmuting valuable isotopes, the required number of catalyzed fusion events per muon and muon energy generation cost can be relaxed by several orders of magnitude, making $μ$CF an attractive intense neutron source. We show an example $μ$CF system with a modest muon rate of $10^8$ muons / second could produce up to 0.5 mg of $^{225}$Ac per year - ten times current global supply - with a 10 gram $^{226}$Ra feedstock. As higher muon rate beams become available, many other radioisotope transmutation pathways become viable. These findings motivate the accelerated development of $μ$CF systems for neutron-driven isotope production before net energy generation is possible.