Published April 15, 1986 | Version v1
Journal article

Proposed experimental test of Bell's inequality in nuclear beta decay

Creators

  • 1. Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

Description

A β decay experiment is proposed for testing Bell's inequality, related to hidden-variables alternatives to quantum mechanics. The experiment uses Mott scattering for spin polarization analysis of internal conversion electrons. Beta-decay electrons, in cascade with the conversion electrons, are longitudinally polarized due to parity violation in the weak interaction. So simply detecting the β electron direction effectively measures the spin. A two-particle spin-spin correlation can thus be investigated and related, within certain assumptions, to Bell's inequality. The example of 203Hg decay is used for a calculation of expected results. Specific problems related to nuclear structure and experimental inconsistencies are also discussed

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Phys. Rev., D
Journal Volume
33
Journal Issue
8
Series
Phys. Rev., D.
Journal Page Range
2233-2239
ISSN
0556-2821
CODEN
PRVDA