A first principles study of Be-doped endohedral C60: towards understanding changing electron-capture rates

Recent measurements of the electron-capture rate in 7Be encapsulated in a C60 cage, show that the half-life is shortened by ∼0.83 %, compared to the half-life in Be-metal. This is the largest change reported in any material, and represents a strong effect of the chemical environment on a nuclear process. A microscopic study of this system might therefore go some way towards helping us to understand how beta decay rates, and more generally, perhaps even nuclear decay rates, might be changed, a problem which remains one of the most challenging in the field of nuclear science. In this work, we attempt to understand the Be-C60 interaction by means of a first principles study of a single Be atom encapsulated in a C60 cage. Using density functional theory, we investigate the structural and electronic properties of four different isomers of this system, and report preliminary results of our study of this unique chemical environment. (author)