Electron Capture $\beta$-Decay of $^7$Be Encapsulated in C$_{60}$: Origin of Increased Electron Density at the $^7$Be Nucleus

TL;DR

This paper presents a new theoretical explanation for increased electron density at the $^7$Be nucleus when encapsulated in C$_{60}$, attributing it to an attractive potential well that alters the electron's wave function.

Contribution

The study introduces an ab initio Hartree-Fock model showing how fullerene C$_{60}$ modifies the electron state of encapsulated $^7$Be, leading to increased nuclear electron density.

Findings

Electron density at $^7$Be nucleus increases due to fullerene encapsulation.

The 2$s$ state transforms into a higher-energy 3$s$ state with a node.

The wave function's node mimics repulsion, affecting electron distribution.

Abstract

We offer a new theoretical interpretation for the effect of enhanced electron density at $^7$Be nucleus encapsulated in fullerene C$_{60}$. Our {\it{ab initio}} Hartree-Fock calculations show that electron density at the $^7$Be nucleus in $^7$Be@C$_{60}$ increase due to {\it{}attractive} effective potential well generated by the fullerene. The 2$s$ state in the isolated Be atom turns into 3$s$ state in the joint potential. This new state has higher energy, and slightly larger amplitude at the Be nucleus than the previous 2$s$ state. Moreover the 3$s$ wave function has additional {\it{}node} appeared at the distance $r \simeq 5a_B$ from the center. The node imitates repulsion between the Be electron and the fullerene wall, because the electron has zero probability to occupy this region. Such imitation of the repulsion by means of the node in attractive potential has direct physical analogy in the theory of $\alpha$-$\alpha$ and $N$-$N$ nuclear interactions.