Pressure Dependence of the Radioactive Decay Constant of Beryllium-7

Abstract

Diamond anvil presses of a new design were used to compress samples of beryllium-7 oxide to 120, 210, and 270 kilobars. The decay constant for the conversion of beryllium-7 to lithium-7 by electron capture was measured for compressed and uncompressed samples. A least-squares fit of the equation (lambda(c)-lambda)/lambda = KpP to the experimental data, where lambda(C) and lambda are the decay constants of the compressed sample and an uncompressed sample, respectively, and P is pressure, yields a value of (2.2 +/- 0.1) x 10(-5) kbar(-1) for the constant K(p).