Electron assisted neutron exchange process in solid state environment

Electron assisted neutron exchange process in solid state environment is investigated. It is shown that if a metal is irradiated with free electrons then the $e+$ $_{Z}^{A_{1}}X+$ $_{Z}^{A_{2}}X\rightarrow e^{\prime }+$ $$ $_{Z}^{A_{2}+1}X+\Delta$ electron assisted neutron exchange process has measurable probability even in the case of slow electrons of energy much less than the reaction energy $\Delta$. The transition probability per unit time, the cross section of the process and the yield in an irradiated sample are determined in the Weisskopf and long wavelength approximations and in the single particle shell model. Numerical data for the $e+$ $_{28}^{A_{1}}Ni+$ $_{28}^{A_{2}}Ni\rightarrow e^{\prime }+$ $_{28}^{A_{1}+1}Ni+$ $_{28}^{A_{2}-1}Ni+\Delta$ and the $e+$ $$ $_{46}^{A_{2}}Pd\rightarrow e^{\prime }+$ $$ $_{46}^{A_{2}-1}Pd+\Delta$ electron assisted neutron exchange reactions are also presented.