Perturbation of Alpha Particle—Gamma Ray Angular Correlations in Am241, Am243, and Cm243

Abstract

By utilization of the recoil properties associated with the alpha decay process, perturbations of alpha-gamma angular correlations in ${\mathrm{Am}}^{241}$, ${\mathrm{Am}}^{243}$, and ${\mathrm{Cm}}^{243}$ were observed in a variety of media including vacuum, metals, Mylar, oxides and liquids. In the vacuum and Mylar environments the ${\mathrm{Am}}^{243}$ correlation is not only considerably more perturbed than in metallic environments but it exhibits an attenuation coefficient below the hard-core value for a static interaction. The perturbation in vacuum is attributed to a hyperfine structure interaction involving an electron shell excited in the alpha decay process. Several experiments designed to further explore the effect of alpha decay on the electron shell are suggested. It is pointed out that application of a strong magnetic field along the direction of one of the radiations may completely restore the correlation in vacuum. Improvement of the correlation in metals as compared to insulators may be related to the rapid recovery time of the electron shell in metallic media.