J. J. Mattes

Evidence of correlations between nuclear decay rates and Earth-Sun distance

Abstract Unexplained periodic fluctuations in the decay rates of 32 Si and 226 Ra have been reported by groups at Brookhaven National Laboratory ( 32 Si), and at the Physikalisch–Technische–Bundesanstalt in Germany ( 226 Ra). We show from an analysis of the raw data in these experiments that the observed fluctuations are strongly correlated in time, not only with each other, but also with the time of year. We discuss both the possibility that these correlations arise from seasonal influences on the detection system, as well as the suggestion of an annual modulation of the decay rates themselves which vary with Earth–Sun distance.

Power spectrum analyses of nuclear decay rates

Abstract We provide the results from a spectral analysis of nuclear decay data displaying annually varying periodic fluctuations. The analyzed data were obtained from three distinct data sets: 32 Si and 36 Cl decays reported by an experiment performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), 56 Mn decay reported by the Children’s Nutrition Research Center (CNRC), but also performed at BNL, and 226 Ra decay reported by an experiment performed at the Physikalisch–Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Germany. All three data sets exhibit the same primary frequency mode consisting of an annual period. Additional spectral comparisons of the data to local ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, Earth–Sun distance, and their reciprocals were performed. No common phases were found between the factors investigated and those exhibited by the nuclear decay data. This suggests that either a combination of factors was responsible, or that, if it was a single factor, its effects on the decay rate experiments are not a direct synchronous modulation. We conclude that the annual periodicity in these data sets is a real effect, but that further study involving additional carefully controlled experiments will be needed to establish its origin.

Study of the dependence of 198Au half-life on source geometry

We report the results of an experiment to determine whether the half-life of {sup 198}Au depends on the shape of the source. This study was motivated by recent suggestions that nuclear decay rates may be affected by solar activity, perhaps arising from solar neutrinos. If this were the case then the {beta}-decay rates, or half-lives, of a thin foil sample and a spherical sample of gold of the same mass and activity could be different. We find for {sup 198}Au, (T{sub 1/2}){sub foil}/(T{sub 1/2}){sub sphere} = 0.999 {+-} 0.002, where T{sub 1/2} is the mean half-life. The maximum neutrino flux at the sample in our experiments was several times greater than the flux of solar neutrinos at the surface of the Earth. We show that this increase in flux leads to a significant improvement in the limits that can be inferred on a possible solar contribution to nuclear decays.

Preliminary Results from Nuclear Decay Experiments Performed During the Solar Eclipse of August 1, 2008

Recent developments in efforts to determine the cause of anomalous experimental nuclear decay fluctuations suggest a possible solar influence. Here we report on the preliminary results from several nuclear decay experiments performed at Thule Air Base in Greenland during the Solar Eclipse that took place on 1 August 2008. Because of the high northern latitude and time of year, the Sun never set and thereby provided relatively stabilized conditions for nearly all environmental factors. An exhaustive list of relevant factors were monitored during the eclipse to help rule out possible systematic effects due to external influences. In addition to the normal temperature, pressure, humidity, and cloud cover associated with the outside ambient observations, we included similar measurements within the laboratory along with monitoring of the power supply output, local neutron count rates, and the Earth’s local magnetic and electric fields.

Periodicities in Nuclear Decay Data: Systematic Effects or New Physics?

Recent comparisons of independent and unrelated nuclear decay experiments have shown unexplained oscillations that appear to be common in frequency and phase. The most logical explanation for this fluctuation would be some common systematic or environmental factor. In this paper we provide detailed spectral analysis comparisons of several environmental factors with nuclear decay data from an experiment performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. We demonstrate that, although none of the environmental factors investigated can be causal, comparisons with ACRIM solar irradiance measurements provide good agreement with the nuclear decay data. This analysis provides the first direct evidence that the cause of the fluctuations has a possible solar origin.

Investigation of Periodic Nuclear Decay Data with Spectral Analysis Techniques

We provide the results from a spectral analysis of nuclear decay experiments displaying unexplained periodic fluctuations. The analyzed data was from 56Mn decay reported by the Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston, 32Si decay reported by an experiment performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, and 226Ra decay reported by an experiment performed at the Physikalisch‐Technische‐Bundesanstalt in Germany. All three data sets possess the same primary frequency mode consisting of an annual period. Additionally a spectral comparison of the local ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, Earth‐Sun distance, and the plasma speed and latitude of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS) was performed. Following analysis of these six possible causal factors, their reciprocals, and their linear combinations, a possible link between nuclear decay rate fluctuations and the linear combination of the HCS latitude and 1/R motivates searching for a possible mechanism with such properties.