On Transition Probabilities in Double Beta-Disintegration

The phenomenon of double -disintegration is one for which there is a marked difference between the results of Majorana's symmetrical theory of the neutrino and those of the original Dirac-Fermi theory. In the older theory double -disintegration involves the emission of four particles, two electrons (or positrons) and two antineutrinos (or neutrinos), and the probability of disintegration is extremely small. In the Majorana theory only two particles---the electrons or positrons---have to be emitted, and the transition probability is much larger. Approximate values of this probability are calculated on the Majorana theory for the various Fermi and Konopinski-Uhlenbeck expressions for the interaction energy. The selection rules are derived, and are found in all cases to allow transitions with =1, 0. The results obtained with the Majorana theory indicate that it is not at all certain that double -disintegration can never be observed. Indeed, if in this theory the interaction expression were of Konopinski-Uhlenbeck type this process would be quite likely to have a bearing on the abundances of isotopes and on the occurrence of observed long-lived radioactivities. If it is of Fermi type this could be so only if the mass difference were fairly large (20, 0. 01 unit).