Title : The relationship between the probability of nuclear electromagnetic (EM) transitions and the energy density of zero-point oscillations of the EM field
Abstract:
Quantum electrodynamics shows that the probability PE of spontaneous electromagnetic (EM) transitions of energy E in atoms or in atomic nuclei (photon emission and nonradiative atomic Auger transitions or nuclear transitions via the internal electron conversion) is proportional to the energy density WZPF, E of the zero-point fluctuations of EM field (ZPFs) at the transition frequency E/h, and therefore these transitions can be interpreted as stimulated by ZPFs (see, e.g., [1] and references therein). This idea is supported by the observed relationship between the probability PE and the value of WZPF, E, which depends on the intensity of the ZPFs interaction with matter. Long-lived isomeric nuclei with low conversion transition energies are convenient for experiments. Research in this direction has been conducting at the Radium Institute since the 1980s with the isomeric nuclei 229mTh (E = 8 eV), 235mU (E = 76 eV), 154mEu (E = 910 eV), 99mTc (E = 2172 eV) (see [1] and references therein). A change in the probability PE was observed for these transitions upon the embedded of isomeric nuclei into matrices of various materials. This change in PE cannot be explained by the chemical influence of the matrices on the electron shells of the isomeric nuclei or by the scattering of conversion electrons on the matrix atoms. At least qualitatively, the effect corresponds to a change in the PE probability due to a change in the ZPFs intensity in the matrices.
