Alpha vs Beta Decay
Alpha decay emits an alpha particle (a helium-4 nucleus: 2 protons + 2 neutrons) and reduces the parent's mass number by 4 and atomic number by 2. Driven by strong-force binding and quantum tunneling through the Coulomb barrier. Energies typically 4–9 MeV; range in air ~few cm.
Beta decay is mediated by the weak interaction. In β− decay a neutron becomes a proton, electron, and antineutrino: n → p + e− + e. In β+ decay a proton becomes a neutron, positron, and neutrino. Beta spectra are continuous because the neutrino carries off variable energy — the observation that led Pauli to predict the neutrino in 1930.
Side-by-side: alpha is heavy and slow (~107 m/s), strongly ionising, stopped by paper. Beta is light and fast (~108 m/s), moderately ionising, stopped by a few mm of aluminium. Gamma decay (photon emission) often follows both.
Recent research on this topic from arXiv
Preprints and papers indexed on arXiv.org. Links open the public abstract pages.
- Competition between alpha-decay and beta-decay for Heavy and Superheavy Nuclei
Zongqiang Sheng, Liangping Shu, Ying Meng et al. · 2014 ·arXiv:1401.3797v1
In this work, the $β$-stable region for Z $\geq$ 90 is proposed. The calculated $β$-stable nuclei in the $β$-stable region are in good agreement with the ones obtained by Möller \emph{et al}.. The half-lives of the nuclei close to the $β$-s... - Double Beta Decay
Amand Faessler, Fedor Simkovic · 1999 ·arXiv:9901215v1
We review the recent developments in the field of nuclear double beta decay, which is presently an important topic in both nuclear and particle physics. The mechanism of lepton number violation within the neutrinoless double beta decay is d... - Nuclear matrix elements of double beta decay from beta decay
Jouni Suhonen · 2004 ·arXiv:0412064v1
The evaluation of the nuclear matrix elements (NME) of the two-neutrino double beta ($2νββ$) decay and neutrinoless double beta ($0νββ$) decay using the proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation (pnQRPA) is addressed. In parti... - Double Beta Decay
Steven R. Elliott · 2011 ·arXiv:1110.6159v1
At least one neutrino has a mass of about 50 meV or larger. However, the absolute mass scale for the neutrino remains unknown. Furthermore, the critical question: Is the neutrino its own antiparticle? is unanswered. Studies of double beta d...
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