Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-particle-and-nuclear-physics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/section-b/4/a/solution

Neon has and sodium has , while is unchanged. The conversion is therefore beta-minus decay,
A neutron is converted to a proton by the weak charged current. If an excited daughter is populated, subsequent gamma decay produces the observed photons without changing either or . The initial weak transition and the later electromagnetic nuclear de-excitation are distinct stages. A direct transition to the daughter ground state produces no nuclear de-excitation gamma ray.

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