Disproof of solar influence on the decay rates of 90Sr/90Y

TL;DR

This study used a liquid scintillation counter to measure 90Sr/90Y decay rates over time, finding no evidence of annual oscillations and contradicting prior claims of solar influence on decay rates.

Contribution

The paper provides a rigorous long-term measurement of 90Sr/90Y decay rates using advanced detection methods, demonstrating stability and refuting previous reports of solar-related periodic variations.

Findings

Decay rates are stable over time after correction.

No significant annual oscillation observed in decay data.

Contradicts earlier claims of solar influence on decay rates.

Abstract

A custom-built liquid scintillation counter was used for long-term measurements of 90Sr/90Y sources. The detector system is equipped with an automated sample changer and three photomultiplier tubes, which makes the application of the triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) method possible. After decay correction, the measured decay rates were found to be stable and no annual oscillation could be observed. Thus, the findings of this work are in strong contradiction to those of Parkhomov [1] who reported on annual oscillations when measuring 90Sr/90Y with a Geiger-M\"uller counter. Sturrock et al. [2] carried out a more detailed analysis of the experimental data from Parkhomov and claimed to have found correlations between the decay rates and processes inside the Sun. These findings are questionable, since they are based on inappropriate experimental data as is demonstrated in this work. A frequency analysis of our activity data does not show any significant periodicity.