Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41984964›Full record

ArticleScience advances2026

Direct observation of muonic molecules in resonance states critical to muon catalyzed fusion.

Y Toyama, T Azuma, D A Bennett, W B Doriese, M S Durkin, J W Fowler, J D Gard, T Hashimoto, R Hayakawa, Y Ichinohe and 29 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

39 authors.

Y ToyamaCenter for Muon Science and Technology, Chubu University, Kasugai 487-8501, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3216-7396
T AzumaAtomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako 351-0198, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-6416-1212
D A BennettNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3011-3690
W B DorieseNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1107-6441
M S DurkinNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5640-2525
J W FowlerNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.
J D GardNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4195-9544
T HashimotoRIKEN Pioneering Research Institute, RIKEN, Wako 351-0198, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-6973-4895
R HayakawaWPI-QUP, International Center for Quantum-field Measurement Systems for Studies of the Universe and Particles, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3752-0048
Y IchinoheNishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, RIKEN, Wako 351-0198, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-6102-1441
K IshidaHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3458-8506
S KandaHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-9080-4154
N KawamuraHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3099-5526
Y KinoDepartment of Chemistry, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.
R KonishiDepartment of Chemistry, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.
Y MiyakeHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-0095-0447
K M MorganNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6597-1030
R NakashimaDepartment of Chemistry, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.
H NatoriHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.
H NodaAstronomical Institute, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-6020-517X
G C O'NeilNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3450-2263
S OkadaCenter for Muon Science and Technology, Chubu University, Kasugai 487-8501, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-5349-8549
T OkumuraDepartment of Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3037-6573
K OkutsuDepartment of Chemistry, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-0713-4565
C D ReintsemaNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.
K SasakiDepartment of Chemistry, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.
T SatoDepartment of Physics, Meiji University, Kawaski 214-8571, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-9267-1693
D R SchmidtNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5764-0194
K ShimomuraHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-9501-6149
P StrasserHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-2370-2166
D S SwetzNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8192-2175
T TakahashiKavli IPMU (WPI), The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8583, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-6305-3909
M TampoHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-5708-6795
H TatsunoDepartment of Physics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji 192-0397, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-8682-1579
J N UllomNational Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.
I UmegakiHigh Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-9271-3574
S WatanabeDepartment of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-0441-7404
S YamadaDepartment of Physics, Rikkyo University, Tokyo 171-8501, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-4808-893X
T YamashitaDepartment of Chemistry, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-2225-2260

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Muon catalyzed fusion (μCF) is a plasma-free process in which the formation of muonic hydrogen molecules precedes and enables fusion between their constituent nuclei. Despite decades of study, the reaction dynamics of μCF remain elusive. Recent theories predict that resonance states of the muonic molecules play a key role and that these states can be probed using x-ray techniques. Using an array of transition-edge sensor microcalorimeters with 10-fold improved energy resolution compared to conventional silicon detectors, we observed x-rays from resonance states of muonic deuterium molecules despite an intense background. The spectrum is well explained by high-precision calculations incorporating the vibrational states. This work identifies the long-overlooked resonance state pathway as crucial in μCF and provides the direct evidence of the efficient muonic molecular formation.

Identifiers

PMID41984964
PMCPMC13082326

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.