Internal Bremsstrahlung and Ionization Accompanying Beta Decay

Abstract

Internal bremsstrahlung spectra from S35 and Pm147 have been investigated with the NaI scintillation spectrometer. Both the absolute cross section of production and the energy distribution agree with theoretical predictions. The theoretical internal bremsstrahlung spectrum of RaE was calculated by using both the observed forbidden beta spectrum and an allowed beta distribution. No significant differences in shape were found in these two cases except in the absolute cross section of production. The ionization accompanying beta decay was studied in the case of RaE and also in Pm147 by measuring the characteristic x-rays in an NaI scintillation counter as well as in a proportional counter spectrometer. Both K and L radiations were observed, and their absolute cross sections were compared with the theoretical calculations of Migdal, Feinberg, and Levinger. Because of the approximate nature of the theoretical calculations, the agreement between the theoretical and experimental results is considered satisfactory.