Evidence for Correlations Between Nuclear Decay Rates and Earth-Sun Distance

TL;DR

This study finds strong correlations between nuclear decay rate fluctuations and Earth-Sun distance, suggesting solar influence or seasonal effects may impact decay measurements.

Contribution

It provides evidence linking decay rate variations to Earth-Sun distance and discusses potential implications for nuclear physics and fundamental constants.

Findings

Decay rates of Si-32 and Ra-226 fluctuate in correlation with Earth-Sun distance.

Observed fluctuations are synchronized between different experiments.

Implications include possible effects of solar activity on decay measurements.

Abstract

Unexplained periodic fluctuations in the decay rates of Si-32 and Ra-226 have been reported by groups at Brookhaven National Laboratory (Si-32), and at the Physikalisch-Technische-Bundesandstalt in Germany (Ra-226). We show from an analysis of the raw data in these experiments that the observed fluctuations are strongly correlated in time, not only with each other, but also with the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Some implications of these results are also discussed, including the suggestion that discrepancies in published half-life determinations for these and other nuclides may be attributable in part to differences in solar activity during the course of the various experiments, or to seasonal variations in fundamental constants.