Accurate Theoretical <span class="aps-inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>β</mi></math></span>-Decay Energy Spectrum of the Tritium Molecule and Its Neutrino Mass Dependence

O. Fackler; B. Jeziorski; W. Kołos; H. J. Monkhorst; K. Szalewicz

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.55.1388

Accurate Theoretical $β$ -Decay Energy Spectrum of the Tritium Molecule and Its Neutrino Mass Dependence

O. Fackler, B. Jeziorski, W. Kołos, H. J. Monkhorst, and K. Szalewicz

Phys. Rev. Lett. 55, 1388 – Published 23 September 1985

Abstract

The $β$ -decay energy spectrum which results from the decay of one of the nuclei in the $T_{2}$ molecule has been computed. An accurate, explicitly correlated basis set was used to describe electronic states of both the parent and the daughter molecules, and effects of nuclear motion have been taken into account. All the channels which meaningfully affect the spectrum have been incorporated, including resonance and scattering channels. The spectra are presented for several neutrino masses. It is shown that the molecular effects are crucial for accurately determining the neutrino mass from a tritium $β$ -decay experiment.

Received 17 June 1985

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.55.1388

Authors & Affiliations

O. Fackler^1,2, B. Jeziorski^3,4, W. Kołos^3,5, H. J. Monkhorst⁵, and K. Szalewicz^3,5

¹Department of Physics, Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021
²Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, Livermore, California 94550
³Quantum Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 02093 Warsaw, Poland
⁴Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
⁵Quantum Theory Project, Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611