From particle physics: To medtech and biomedical research

Physics phenomena underpin many techniques and technologies that are used for both diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases. This is the case for radiotherapy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) that are based on our knowledge, respectively, of how particles interact with matter, of how atomic nuclei behave in oscillating magnetic fields, and of how positron decay.

New Phase Space Calculations for β-Decay Half-Lives

We revisit the computation of the phase space factors (PSF) involved in the positron decay and EC processes for a large number of nuclei of experimental interest. To obtain the electron/positron wave functions, we develop a code for solving accurately the Dirac equation with a nuclear potential derived from a realistic proton density distribution in the nucleus. The finite nuclear size (FNS) and screening effects are included through recipes which differ from those used in previous calculations. Comparing our results with previous calculations, performed with the same Q-values, we find a close agreement for positron decays, while, for the EC process, there are relevant differences. For the EC process, we also find that the screening effect has a notable influence on the computed PSF values especially for light nuclei. Further, we recomputed the same PSF values but using the most recent Q-values reported in literature. In several cases, the new Q-values differ significantly from the older ones, leading to large differences in the PSF values as compared with previous results. Our new PSF values can contribute to more reliable calculations of the beta-decay rates, used in the study of nuclei far from the stability line and stellar evolution.