Towards experimental search for the atomic effect in alpha decay: comparison of the adiabatic approach with the frozen shell model

TL;DR

This paper investigates the electron shell's influence on alpha decay using the adiabatic approach, highlighting the dominant role of inner electrons and comparing it with the frozen shell model to guide experimental measurements.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparison between the adiabatic and frozen shell models for alpha decay, emphasizing the importance of inner shell electrons in the effect.

Findings

Inner shells, especially 1s electrons, account for over 80% of the effect.

The effect magnitude is tenths of a percent, depending on energy and atomic number.

The adiabatic approach offers insights into the limits of the frozen shell model.

Abstract

We study the important for the experiment features of the effect of the electron shell on alpha decay in the adiabatic approach. The effect is of tenths of a percent or less in magnitude, depending on the transition energy and the atomic number. On the other hand, we show the predominant role of the inner shells: more than 80% of the effect are due to the 1s electrons. This fact is crucial for the experiment, allowing one to perform measurements in the same storage rings, comparing for example, the probability of decay in the bare nuclei and Helium-like ions. The analysis is presented concerning the reasons for the relative success and the limits of applicability of the model of "frozen" electron shell used to calculate the effect for more than half a century.