Piezonuclear reactions - do they exist?

TL;DR

The paper critically examines claims of piezonuclear reactions, specifically challenging evidence for accelerated thorium decay under cavitation, and highlights shortcomings in the experimental data and analysis.

Contribution

It provides a critical review and refutation of previous claims of piezonuclear reactions, emphasizing the lack of sufficient evidence and methodological flaws.

Findings

Previous claims of accelerated thorium decay are unsubstantiated.

Experimental setup and data analysis contain significant shortcomings.

The physics community's peer review process is crucial for validating new discoveries.

Abstract

In a number of recent articles in this journal F. Cardone and collaborators have claimed the observation of several striking nuclear phenomena which they attribute to "piezonuclear reactions". One such claim [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 1956] is that subjecting a solution of 228Th to cavitation leads to a "transformation" of thorium nuclei that is 104 times faster than the normal nuclear decay for this isotope. In a "Comment" [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 3795] to the thorium work, we have criticized the evidence provided for this claim. In a "Reply" [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 3797] Cardone et al. answer only some minor points but avoid addressing the real issue. The information provided in their Reply displays a worrying lack of control of their experimental situation and the data they put forward as evidence for their claims. We point out several shortcomings and errors in the described experimental preparations, set-up and reporting, as well as in the data analysis. We conclude that the evidence presented by Cardone et al. is insufficient to justify their claims of accelerated thorium decay (by "piezonuclear reactions" or otherwise). We also briefly discuss the role of the physics community (peer review) in the evaluation of new discoveries and claims.