Nuclear Beta Decay (Parity, deta[L])

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on the concepts of parity change and the calculation of deta (L) in nuclear beta decay. The examples provided include the decays of 89Sr to 89Y, 26Al to 26Mg, and 97Zr to 97Nb, with specific attention to their degrees of forbiddenness. The first decay demonstrates a change in parity from 5/2+ to 1/2-, resulting in an allowed value of L=3 under Fermi transition conditions. The discussion emphasizes the importance of angular momentum addition theorem and parity conservation in determining the allowed values of L.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of nuclear beta decay processes
  • Familiarity with angular momentum addition theorem
  • Knowledge of parity conservation in nuclear physics
  • Concept of Fermi and Gamow-Teller transitions
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the calculation of deta (L) for various beta decay examples
  • Learn about the differences between Fermi and Gamow-Teller transitions
  • Explore the implications of parity change in nuclear reactions
  • Investigate the classification of nuclear decays by degree of forbiddenness
USEFUL FOR

Students and researchers in nuclear physics, particularly those focusing on beta decay processes and angular momentum theory.

qwerty2010
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I do not get the concepts of the parity change and how do I find the deta (l) for beta decay.
Please Help!

Classify the following decays according to their degree of forbiddenness, all ground states decays.

89Sr (5/2+) -> 89Y (1/2-)
26Al (5+) -> 26Mg (2+)
97Zr (1/2+) -> 97Nb (1/2-)

What are theirs change in parity and deta (L)?
How do you calculate it? Thanks again!
 
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Hey, I don't quite remember this but I'll try to explain how you do it for your first reaction.

At the beginning, you can find the allowed values for L ( the orbital angular momentum ) via the angular momentum addition theorem: L = { |J1-J2|,..,|J1+J2|} in integer steps.

As for the parity, for the 1st example you see that there is a change of parity: 5/2+ goes to 1/2-. This will have an effect on the allowed values of L. For parity to be conserved, you need to have:

parity(Sr) = parity(Y)*parity(L).

parity(L)= (-1)^L
Hence you can see that only L=3 works here.
While doing this, I have assumed a Fermi transition ( the electron & neutrino have opposite aligned spins ).

If they for example they have parallel aligned spins, the transition will be Gamow-Teller and for the allowed values of L you will get only 2 ( you subtract 1 from all the values you got for the allowed values of L you got from the addition theorem ).

So that's it I think. Your transition is 3rd forbidden pure Fermi.

Now try for the next two examples and see if it matches with your school work.
 

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