EVALUATION OF MUON ALPHA-STICKING FROM LIQUID, NON-EQUILIBRATED D-T TARGETS WITH HIGH TRITIUM FRACTIONS

In the past, evaluations of the alpha-muon sticking parameter in muon-catalyzed d-t fusion (omega(s)) have generally been performed for low tritium fractions C(t), where ddmu fusion significantly competes with dtmu formation in the catalysis cycle. Here we use the approach of determining omega(s) from high-C(t) data, that is, in deuterium-tritium mixtures with C(t) greater-than-or-equal-to 70%. We employed liquid deuterium-tritium targets with low DT admixture to minimize corrections. We will show that this approach results in considerable simplification in the extraction of the sticking parameter. Data were taken at LAMPF during the summers of 1989 and 1990. The value we obtain agrees well with our earlier values and the latest value from PSI, yet remains significantly smaller than theoretical predictions.