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Beta Decay

The decay of a nucleus emitting a beta particle (

e^-

), resulting in a change in the atomic mass number while the atomic number remains constant.

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The statement of the theorem

Consider a parent nucleus

X

with mass number

A_X

and atomic number

Z_X

. Beta decay (specifically

\beta^-

decay) is represented by the reaction:

{}_{Z_X}^{A_X}X \rightarrow {}_{Z_X+1}^{A_X}Y + e^- + \bar{\nu}_e

where

Y

is the daughter nucleus,

e^-

is the beta particle, and

\bar{\nu}_e

is the electron antineutrino. The conservation laws require:

A_X = A_X + 0 \quad \text{and} \newline Z_X = (Z_X+1) + (-1)

Source: Wikipedia