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Atomic physics

A new twist in β-decay

Nature volume 397, pages 105–108 (1999)Cite this article

In an elegant experiment, described on page 137 of this issue, Gatti et al.1 have found a new twist in the β-decay of a rhenium isotope. Radioactive β-decay is when a neutron in an atomic nucleus changes into a proton, emitting an electron and a neutrino in the process. The authors show that the local molecular environment of the decaying nucleus has a significant effect on the shape of the electron emission spectrum. The underlying interest in β-decay, and the rationale for Gatti and colleagues' experiment, stems from the hunt for that elusive particle, the neutrino.

Some 70 years ago, the β-decay emission spectrum was a real puzzle. The emitted electrons carry away an energy somewhere between zero and the full available decay energy, unlike the characteristic decay energies of other radioactive particles. The missing energy in β-decay was such a mystery that for a while even Einstein, like many others, accepted the idea that energy was not conserved in this process. To solve the problem, Pauli introduced the neutrino in his famous 1930 letter to the “Dear Radioactive Ladies and Gentleman”. He also suggested that, “like the new taxes”, it's best not to think about it2. But it did not take long before the idea of the neutrino was accepted.

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Figure 1: The interaction between the emitted electron in β-decay and its local atomic environment.
Figure 2: The overall shape and fine detail of the 187Re β-decay spectrum measured by Gatti et al.1.

References

  1. Gatti, F., Fontanelli, F., Galeazzi, M., Swift A. M. & Vitale, S. Nature 397, 137–139 (1999).

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  2. Pauli, W. in Gesammelte Werke Abt. C. Bd. 1: Physik und Erkentnistheorie (ed. Heisenberg, W.) 156-180 (Vieweg, 1984), translated into English by Zacek, G. in Neutrino Physics 1-26 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1991).

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  5. Conradson, S. D. Applied Spectrosc., 52, 252A-279A (1998).

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  1. N-division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, 94550, California, USA

    Wolfgang Stoeffl

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  1. Wolfgang Stoeffl
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Stoeffl, W. A new twist in β-decay. Nature 397, 105–108 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/16347

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