Environmental effects on nuclear decay rates

Abstract

The possible change of nuclear decay rates in different environments has long been an interesting topic due to its importance not only in nuclear physics but also in astrophysics, geological dating, condensed matter physics, etc. The progress in the investigation of variations in nuclear decay rates are reviewed.

Determination of theα-decay half-life ofPo210based on film and slice bismuth samples at room temperature

“…It is generally believed that the values of α half-lives are constant and independent of the external environment of radioactive nuclei. However, recently, the study of the half-lives of radionuclides depending on the external environment of the decaying nucleus has become a hot research topic [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], since different experiments showed varying results concerning this controversial question. Nuclear waste and its reprocessing is rapidly becoming a global environmental problem, and if the decay rates of radioactive waste products can be increased by changing the surrounding material, it would be a major breakthrough in the disposal of accumulating radioactive waste [18].…”

“…The 210 Po nucleus decays directly to the 0 + ground state of 206 Pb with a 100% branching ratio. The α decay rate may depend on the density of the quasifree electron cloud surrounding the nuclei decaying in metallic environment [14,15,22], which is the focus of our study. In this article, we investigate if the α decay rates of 210 Po can be intentionally increased by embedding in particular metals.…”