Search for nuclear reactions in water molecules

Abstract The possibility of molecular-nuclear transitions to occur was recently predicted for some few-atomic systems. Among others, the molecule of ordinary water was shown to be a candidate for this effect due to a presence of (1 − , 4.522 MeV)-resonance in the 18 Ne nucleus. The search for traces of nuclear reactions was carried out for condensed and vaporous phases of water, with the use of low-background annihilation spectrometry. The measurements were carried out under conventional conditions and under conditions of the Baksan Neutrino Observatory.