Abstract
We consider effects of the fields of strong electromagnetic waves on various characteristics of quantum processes. After a qualitative discussion of the effects of external fields on the energy spectra and angular distributions of the final-state particles as well as on the total probabilities of the processes (such as decay rates and total cross sections), we present a simple method of calculating the total probabilities of processes with production of nonrelativistic charged particles. Using nuclear β decay as an example, we study the weak- and strong-field limits, as well as the field-induced β decay of nuclei stable in the absence of the external fields, both in the tunneling and multiphoton regimes. We also consider the possibility of accelerating forbidden nuclear β decays by lifting the forbiddeness due to the interaction of the parent or daughter nuclei with the field of a strong electromagnetic wave. It is shown that for currently attainable electromagnetic fields all effects on total β-decay rates are unobservably small.
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Akhmedov, E.K. Beta decay and other processes in strong electromagnetic fields. Phys. Atom. Nuclei 74, 1299–1315 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063778811080035
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063778811080035