Abstract
The main decay channels of the anomalous low-energy isomeric level of the nucleus, namely the emission and internal conversion, inside a dielectric sphere, dielectric thin film, and conducting spherical microcavity are investigated theoretically, taking into account the effect of media interfaces. It is shown that (1) the decay rate of the nuclear isomer inside a dielectric thin film and dielectric microsphere placed in a vacuum or in a metal cavity can decrease (increase) in dozen of times, (2) the activity of the distributed source as a function of time can be nonexponential, and (3) the metal cavity, whose size is of the order of the radiation wavelength, does not affect the probability of the internal conversion in , because the virtual photon attenuates at much shorter distances and the reflected wave is very weak.
- Received 16 June 2017
- Revised 31 January 2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.122501
© 2018 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Synopsis
Controlling the Rate of Nuclear Decay
Published 21 March 2018
The rate of a nuclear transition of thorium-229 can be controlled by placing the atom in a cavity or in a thin film—an effect that could lead to ultraprecise nuclear clocks.
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