Perturbation of Nuclear Decay Rates During the Solar Flare of 13 December 2006

TL;DR

This study reports that nuclear decay rates, specifically of 54Mn, decreased during the solar flare of December 2006, coinciding with solar activity spikes, suggesting decay rates may be influenced by solar phenomena.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence linking nuclear decay rate fluctuations to solar flares, supporting the hypothesis of solar influence on decay processes.

Findings

Decay rate of 54Mn decreased during the solar flare

Coincidence of decay dips with solar x-ray and proton flux spikes

Supports the idea that solar activity affects nuclear decay rates

Abstract

Recently, Jenkins, et al. have reported the detection of correlations between fluctuations in nuclear decay rates and Earth-Sun distance, which suggest that nuclear decay rates can be affected by solar activity. In this paper, we report the detection of a significant decrease in the decay of 54Mn during the solar flare of 13 December 2006, whose x-rays were first recorded at 02:37 UT (21:37 EST on 12 December). Our detector was a 1 uCi sample of 54Mn, whose decay rate exhibited a dip coincident in time with spikes in both the x-ray and proton fluxes recorded by the GOES-10 and 11 satellites. A secondary peak in the x-ray and proton fluxes on 17 December at 12:40 EST was also accompanied by a coincident dip in the 54Mn decay rate. These observations support the claim by Jenkins, et al. that nuclear decay rates vary with Earth-Sun distance.