Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: We present a new theory describing the variation of electron capture and bound-state $β$-decays in atomic ions and (non) local thermodynamic equilibrium ((N)LTE) plasmas. We adopt the Takahashi-Yokoi nuclear model with added corrections to first calculate the decay rate for each atomic configuration of the isotope, and then evaluate the in-plasma decay rate by combining them with the charge state distribution (CSD) consistent with plasma density and temperature. Our approach expands the thermodynamic parameter space in which in-plasma $β$-decays can be studied, opening the possibility to validate the model in low-density laboratory magnetoplasmas before application to stellar nucleosynthesis. The model is explained using $^{7}$Be, and then applied to higher mass isotopes such as $^{140}$Pr$^{0+,57+,58+}$, $^{142}$Pm$^{0+,59+,60+}$ and $^{163}$Dy$^{66+}$. Our model is therefore amenable to isotopes in a wide range of masses, in both single charge state or in a plasma-generated CSD.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics And Applications, European Centre for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and Related Areas, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Università di Camerino, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: European Commission
Awards: G5443090575, G777498305, G8833490497
OpenAlex ID: W4400377658