Consistent calculation of the screening and exchange effects in allowed β- transitions
Abstract
The atomic exchange effect has previously been demonstrated to have a great influence at low energy on the Pu241 β- transition. The screening effect has been given as a possible explanation for a remaining discrepancy. Improved calculations have been made to consistently evaluate these two atomic effects, compared here to the recent high-precision measurements of Pu241 and Ni63 β spectra. In this paper a screening correction has been defined to account for the spatial extension of the electron wave functions. Excellent overall agreement of about 1% from 500 eV to the end-point energy has been obtained for both β spectra, which demonstrates that a rather simple β decay model for allowed transitions, including atomic effects within an independent-particle model, is sufficient to describe well the current most precise measurements.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review A
- Pub Date:
- July 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevA.90.012501
- Bibcode:
- 2014PhRvA..90a2501M
- Keywords:
-
- 31.15.-p;
- 23.40.-s;
- Calculations and mathematical techniques in atomic and molecular physics;
- Beta decay;
- double beta decay;
- electron and muon capture