Models based on phonon exchange for excess heat production in Fleischmann-Ponsexperiments are considered. In the case that sufficient phonon exchange occurs tostabilize intermediate states containing a neutral, then a model in which excitationis transferred from the D 2 / 4 He system to a strongly coupled quantum system made up of an oscillator (highly-excited phonon mode) and a Dicke system (ground stateand excited state receiver nuclei) seem appropriate. We find that a coupled Dickesystem and oscillator can support energy coupling in the case of strong coupling.We present evolution equations for resonant coupled Dicke systems, augmentedwith loss. An update is provided on phonon exchange in nuclear calculations.

In 1989 there were announcements made of observations of anomalies in metaldeuterides: Fleischmann and Pons presented observations of an excess heat effectin PdD [1], and Jones presented observations of low-level neutron emission in TiD[2]. Since then, considerable experimental and theoretical work has been reportedon these and on other anomalies. As has been noted often over the years, theexistence of any such effects would require a significant revision of nuclear physicsto explain. We have focused our efforts on understanding the implications of thesenew experiments on theory, as well as on the development of models that may berelevant [3-5].