Further Reading — Chapter 14: Beta Decay: The Weak Interaction in the Nucleus

Textbooks

Introductory / Undergraduate Level

• Krane, K.S. Introductory Nuclear Physics. Wiley, 1988. Chapter 9 (Beta Decay). The standard undergraduate treatment. Clear presentation of Fermi's theory, selection rules, and ft-values. The derivation of the beta spectrum shape is thorough and accessible.

• Wong, S.S.M. Introductory Nuclear Physics. 2nd ed. Wiley-VCH, 2004. Chapter 5. Particularly good on the classification of beta transitions and the log ft systematics.

• Heyde, K. Basic Ideas and Concepts in Nuclear Physics. 3rd ed. IOP Publishing, 2004. Chapter 6. Excellent physical intuition throughout. The discussion of forbidden transitions is more detailed than most introductory texts.

Advanced / Graduate Level

• Wong, S.S.M. Introductory Nuclear Physics. 2nd ed. Wiley-VCH, 2004. Chapter 5. More complete treatment including forbidden transitions and their spectral shapes.

• de Shalit, A. and Feshbach, H. Theoretical Nuclear Physics, Volume I: Nuclear Structure. Wiley, 1974. Chapters 8-9. The definitive treatment of beta decay theory at the graduate level. Includes the full relativistic Fermi function, forbidden transition matrix elements, and CVC/PCAC.

• Bohr, A. and Mottelson, B.R. Nuclear Structure, Volume I: Single-Particle Motion. Benjamin, 1969. Chapter 3C. The Copenhagen perspective on beta decay, with emphasis on single-particle estimates of matrix elements.

• Amos, K., et al. "Nuclear Structure Aspects of Beta Decay." In Advances in Nuclear Physics, Vol. 25. Springer, 2000. Advanced review of nuclear matrix elements for beta decay.

Key Original Papers

Foundational

• Pauli, W. Letter to the "Radioactive Ladies and Gentlemen," December 4, 1930. English translation in Brown, L.M. "The idea of the neutrino." Physics Today 31, 23 (September 1978). The original neutrino hypothesis.

• Fermi, E. "Versuch einer Theorie der $\beta$-Strahlen. I." Zeitschrift fur Physik 88, 161 (1934). English translation in Wilson, F.L. "Fermi's theory of beta decay." American Journal of Physics 36, 1150 (1968). The founding paper of weak interaction theory.

• Gamow, G. and Teller, E. "Selection Rules for the $\beta$-Disintegration." Physical Review 49, 895 (1936). Introduction of the Gamow-Teller transitions and their selection rules.

Parity Violation

• Lee, T.D. and Yang, C.N. "Question of Parity Conservation in Weak Interactions." Physical Review 104, 254 (1956). The theoretical paper that identified the untested assumption.

• Wu, C.S., Ambler, E., Hayward, R.W., Hoppes, D.D., and Hudson, R.P. "Experimental Test of Parity Conservation in Beta Decay." Physical Review 105, 1413 (1957). The experiment that changed physics.

• Garwin, R.L., Lederman, L.M., and Weinrich, M. "Observations of the Failure of Conservation of Parity and Charge Conjugation in Meson Decays: the Magnetic Moment of the Free Muon." Physical Review 105, 1415 (1957). Independent confirmation via pion-muon-electron decay chain.

• Goldhaber, M., Grodzins, L., and Sunyar, A.W. "Helicity of Neutrinos." Physical Review 109, 1015 (1958). The elegant measurement of neutrino helicity.

Neutrino Detection

• Reines, F. and Cowan, C.L. "Detection of the Free Neutrino." Physical Review 92, 830 (1953). The initial detection concept.

• Cowan, C.L., Reines, F., Harrison, F.B., Kruse, H.W., and McGuire, A.D. "Detection of the Free Neutrino: A Confirmation." Science 124, 103 (1956). The definitive confirmation using the Savannah River reactor.

Double Beta Decay

• Majorana, E. "Teoria simmetrica dell'elettrone e del positrone." Il Nuovo Cimento 14, 171 (1937). The original Majorana theory.

• Furry, W.H. "On Transition Probabilities in Double Beta-Disintegration." Physical Review 56, 1184 (1939). First theoretical treatment of $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay.

Review Articles

Beta Decay Theory

• Holstein, B.R. "Recoil effects in allowed beta decay: The elementary particle approach." Reviews of Modern Physics 46, 789 (1974). Comprehensive theoretical framework.

• Severijns, N., Beck, M., and Naviliat-Cuncic, O. "Tests of the standard electroweak model in nuclear beta decay." Reviews of Modern Physics 78, 991 (2006). Modern precision tests of the weak interaction via beta decay correlations.

Superallowed $0^+ \to 0^+$ Transitions

• Hardy, J.C. and Towner, I.S. "Superallowed $0^+ \to 0^+$ nuclear beta decays: 2020 critical survey, with implications for $V_{ud}$ and CKM unitarity." Physical Review C 102, 045501 (2020). The authoritative compilation and analysis. Updated regularly.

• Towner, I.S. and Hardy, J.C. "The evaluation of $V_{ud}$ and its impact on the unitarity of the CKM matrix." Reports on Progress in Physics 73, 046301 (2010). Accessible review of the physics behind the precision program.

Double Beta Decay

• Dolinski, M.J., Poon, A.W.P., and Rodejohann, W. "Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay: Status and Prospects." Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science 69, 219 (2019). Excellent overview of experiments and theory.

• Engel, J. and Menendez, J. "Status and Future of Nuclear Matrix Elements for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay: A Review." Reports on Progress in Physics 80, 046301 (2017). The definitive review of the nuclear matrix element problem.

• Agostini, M., Benato, G., Detwiler, J.A., Menendez, J., and Vissani, F. "Toward the discovery of matter creation with neutrinoless double-beta decay." Reviews of Modern Physics 95, 025002 (2023). State-of-the-art review covering all aspects.

Neutrino Mass

• Formaggio, J.A., de Gouvea, A.L.C., and Robertson, R.G.H. "Direct Measurements of Neutrino Mass." Physics Reports 914, 1 (2021). Comprehensive review of kinematic neutrino mass measurements (KATRIN, Project 8, and others).

• Aker, M. et al. (KATRIN Collaboration). "Direct neutrino-mass measurement with sub-electronvolt sensitivity." Nature Physics 18, 160 (2022). The KATRIN result establishing $m_\nu < 0.8\,\text{eV}$ (since improved to $< 0.45\,\text{eV}$).

Databases and Data Resources

• National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC), Brookhaven National Laboratory. https://www.nndc.bnl.gov/. Nuclear decay data, level schemes, and beta endpoint energies.

• ENSDF (Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File): The standard reference for nuclear level schemes, decay modes, and branching ratios. Searchable via the NNDC website.

• Atomic Mass Evaluation (AME2020): Wang, M. et al. "The AME 2020 atomic mass evaluation (II). Tables, graphs and references." Chinese Physics C 45, 030003 (2021). The definitive compilation of atomic masses used for Q-value calculations.

• log ft Calculator: The NNDC provides an online tool for computing Fermi integrals and log ft values: https://www.nndc.bnl.gov/logft/.

• Particle Data Group (PDG): Navas, S. et al. (Particle Data Group). "Review of Particle Physics." Physical Review D 110, 030001 (2024). Neutrino properties, weak interaction parameters, and double beta decay limits.

Historical and Biographical

• Brown, L.M. "The idea of the neutrino." Physics Today 31, 23 (September 1978). Engaging account of Pauli's hypothesis and its reception.

• Franklin, A. Are There Really Neutrinos? An Evidential History. Perseus Books, 2001. Philosophical and historical analysis of the evidence for neutrinos.

• Chiang, T.-C. Madame Wu Chien-Shiung: The First Lady of Physics Research. World Scientific, 2014. Biography of Wu, including detailed account of the parity experiment.

• Segrè, E. Enrico Fermi: Physicist. University of Chicago Press, 1970. Chapter on Fermi's beta decay theory in the context of his broader work.

• Close, F. Neutrino. Oxford University Press, 2010. Popular account of the neutrino story from Pauli to modern oscillation experiments.