Coulomb Corrections to the Beta Decay ofO14

Abstract

The Coulomb corrections to the nuclear matrix element for the beta decay of O 14 , 0 14 (j8 + )N 14 *, are reexamined using nuclear wave functions obtained from a variational calculation of the nuclear binding energies. The corrections so obtained are an order of magnitude larger than those obtained in perturbation theory, but are, nevertheless, too small to account for the 2% difference between the values of the vector beta-decay coupling constant determined from the decays of the muon and O 14 . The differences between the present calculation and the perturbation calculation are discussed in detail.

Screening effect on electron capture in presupernova stars

“…In the 1950s, Reitz (1950) analyzed the effect of screening on β decay by solving the Dirac equation and concluded that the screening slightly decreases the β decay rate. After that, the screening effect on Fermi function and Coulomb correction in β decay were considered (Chen et al 1966;Matese et al 1966). Gutierrez (1996) suggested that the decrease in electron Fermi energy is equal to the shift in the chemical potential of nuclei before and after the capture reaction.…”