Spectral Content of 22Na/44Ti Decay Data: Implications for a Solar Influence

TL;DR

This study reanalyzed decay data of $^{22}$Na/$^{44}$Ti and found weak evidence for annual variations potentially influenced by solar activity, challenging the assumption of constant nuclear decay rates.

Contribution

It provides a detailed phase and amplitude analysis indicating possible solar influence on nuclear decay rates, which is a novel perspective compared to traditional constant-rate assumptions.

Findings

Weak annual variation detected in decay data

Phase analysis aligns with solar neutrino observations

Supports potential solar influence on nuclear decay rates

Abstract

We report a reanalysis of data on the measured decay rate ratio $^{22}$Na/$^{44}$Ti which were originally published by Norman et al., and interpreted as supporting the conventional hypothesis that nuclear decay rates are constant and not affected by outside influences. We find upon a more detailed analysis of both the amplitude and the phase of the Norman data that they actually favor the presence of an annual variation in $^{22}$Na/$^{44}$Ti, albeit weakly. Moreover, this conclusion holds for a broad range of parameters describing the amplitude and phase of an annual sinusoidal variation in these data. The results from this and related analyses underscore the growing importance of phase considerations in understanding the possible influence of the Sun on nuclear decays. Our conclusions with respect to the phase of the Norman data are consistent with independent analyses of solar neutrino data obtained at Super-Kamiokande-I and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO).