Rare 40K decay with implications for fundamental physics and geochronology

M. Stukel; L. Hariasz; P.C.F. Di Stefano; B.C. Rasco; K.P. Rykaczewski; N.T. Brewer; D.W. Stracener; Y. Liu; Z. Gai; C. Rouleau; J. B. Carter; J. Kostensalo; J. Suhonen; H. Davis; E.D. Lukosi; K.C. Goetz; R.K. Grzywacz; M. Mancuso; F. Petricca; A. Fijalkowska; M. Wolinska-Cichocka; J. Ninkovic; P. Lechner; R.B. Ickert; Leah E. Morgan; P.R. Renne; I. Yavin

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.052503

Rare 40K decay with implications for fundamental physics and geochronology

Physical Review Letters

By: M. Stukel, L. Hariasz, P.C.F. Di Stefano, B.C. Rasco, K.P. Rykaczewski, N.T. Brewer, D.W. Stracener, Y. Liu, Z. Gai, C. Rouleau, J. B. Carter, J. Kostensalo, J. Suhonen, H. Davis, E.D. Lukosi, K.C. Goetz, R.K. Grzywacz, M. Mancuso, F. Petricca, A. Fijalkowska, M. Wolinska-Cichocka, J. Ninkovic, P. Lechner, R.B. Ickert, Leah E. Morgan, P.R. Renne, and I. Yavin

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.052503

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Abstract

Potassium-40 is a widespread, naturally occurring isotope whose radioactivity impacts subatomic rare-event searches, nuclear structure theory, and estimated geological ages. A predicted electron-capture decay directly to the ground state of argon-40 has never been observed. The KDK (potassium decay) collaboration reports strong evidence of this rare decay mode. A blinded analysis reveals a nonzero ratio of intensities of ground-state electron-captures ( $I_{{EC}^{0}}^{0}$ ) over excited-state ones ( $I_{{EC}^{*}}^{*}$ ) of $I_{{EC}^{0}}^{0} / I_{{EC}^{*}}^{*} = 0.0095 stat \pm 0.0022 sys \pm 0.0010$ (68% C.L.), with the null hypothesis rejected at $4 σ$ . In terms of branching ratio, this signal yields $I_{{EC}^{0}}^{0} = 0.098 % stat \pm 0.023 % sys \pm 0.010 %$ , roughly half of the commonly used prediction, with consequences for various fields [L. Hariasz et al., companion paper, Phys. Rev. C 108, 014327 (2023)].

Suggested Citation

Stukel, M., Hariasz, L., Di Stefano, P., Rasco, B., Rykaczewski, K., Brewer, N., Stracener, D., Liu, Y., Gai, Z., Rouleau, C., Carter, J.B., Kostensalo, J., Suhonen, J., Davis, H., Lukosi, E., Goetz, K., Grzywacz, R., Mancuso, M., Petricca, F., Fijalkowska, A., Wolinska-Cichocka, M., Ninkovic, J., Lechner, P., Ickert, R., Morgan, L.E., Renne, P., Yavin, I., 2023, Rare 40K decay with implications for fundamental physics and geochronology: Physical Review Letters, v. 131, 052503, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.052503.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Rare 40K decay with implications for fundamental physics and geochronology
Series title	Physical Review Letters
DOI	10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.052503
Volume	131
Publication Date	July 31, 2023
Year Published	2023
Language	English
Publisher	American Physical Society
Contributing office(s)	Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
Description	052503