Abstract
ACCORDING to the theory of -decay proposed by Fermi, a neutron can be transformed spontaneously into a proton with simultaneous creation of an electron and a neutrino. The probability of this process occurring is to a first approximation proportional to g2, where g is the universal constant introduced by Fermi. Since the -particle has an electric charge, there will be an electromagnetic interaction between the -particle and the virtual electrons which, according to Dirac's theory of the positron, occupy the states of negative energy. As a result of this interaction, it may happen that an electron in a negative energy state during the creation of the -particle makes a transition to a state of positive energy, so that we have a process in which a neutron is transformed into a proton by simultaneous creation of two electrons, a positron and a neutrino. Since the interaction energy between two electrons is to a first approximation proportional to the square of the charge e of an electron, the probability of this process will be proportional to (g e2)2 or (for dimensional reasons) proportional to (g )2, where = 2 e2 / hc = 1/137 is the fine structure constant.
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A. I. Alichanow, A. I. Alichanian and M. S. Kosodaew, NATURE, 136, 475 (1935). 136, 719 (1935).
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MØLLER, C. Positron Emission accompanying -Ray Activity. Nature 137, 314 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137314a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137314a0
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