Alpha Radioactivity

Abstract

Ever since its discovery by Becquerel almost exactly 100 years ago, which was also the very first observation of a nuclear decay mode, α-decay has always been and is still being used as a probe for investigating nuclear structure. The attractive feature of α-decays is that the experimental observables such as decay energy or decay-width directly relate to nuclear structure parameters such as binding energy or spectroscopic (or hindrance) factor. Moreover, α-particles can be detected rather easily under favourable conditions, i.e. high efficiency, low background and good energy resolution. The resulting nuclear structure data concern: ground state decay energies and mass excess values; energies of isomeric and other excited levels; assignment of spin and of other nuclear structure properties to parent and daughter states; isotopic assignment based on parent-daughter relations, α X-ray coincidences or ß-value systematics.