Gross Theory of <i>β</i>-Decay and Shell Effects

Abstract

General properties of nuclear β-decay are discussed on the basis of the gross theory. It is demonstrated that the agreement with experimental data is greatly improved by a good choice of the Q-values and by inclusion of the shell effects. Various aspects of the shell effects are discussed in considerable detail. Based on a fairly general single-particle scheme, several systematics are derived for the β strength functions and half-lives.