INFLUENCE OF THE ELECTRON SHELL ON THE BOUNDARY ENERGY OF THE BETA-DECAY OF A NUCLEUS

A detailed analysis of the influence of the electron shell of an atom on the boundary energy of the beta+/--decay of a nucleus is presented. The influence is observed both in the energy balance in the decay and in the beta-spectrum curve. Energy characteristics of the response of the electron shell to the beta-decay of a nucleus are introduced- The calculation of these characteristics for atoms, as well as for positi ve and negative ions, shows that the mean energy of excitation of the daughter electron shell is determined by the number of electrons, the charge of the nucleus, and the type of decay. For a fixed number of el ectrons in the shell, however, this energy does not depend on the nucl ear charge or on the type of decay. This statement is also substantiat ed by perturbation theory. The calculated values of energy parameters can be used for refining various parameters of beta-decay, such as the atomic and nuclear mass defects or the recoil energy of isotopes, and as additional information in the chi2 method for the parametrization of the beta-decay experimental curve in the mass-sensitive region of t he beta-spectrum aimed at determining the rest mass of a neutrino.