Search for correlated fluctuations in the β+ decay of Na-22

Claims for a 'cosmogenic' force that correlates otherwise independent stochastic processes have been made for at least 10 years, based on visual inspection of histograms whose shapes were interpreted as suggestive of recurrent patterns. Building on our earlier work to test nuclear alpha, b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Europhysics letters 2009-08, Vol.87 (3), p.32001-32001p6
Main Authors: Silverman, M. P, Strange, W
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Claims for a 'cosmogenic' force that correlates otherwise independent stochastic processes have been made for at least 10 years, based on visual inspection of histograms whose shapes were interpreted as suggestive of recurrent patterns. Building on our earlier work to test nuclear alpha, beta, and electron-capture decay processes for non-randomness, we searched for correlations in the time series of e(+)e(-) annihilations deriving from the beta(+) decay of (22)Na. Coincident gamma photons were counted within narrow time and energy windows over a period of 167 hours leading to a time series of more than 1 million events. Statistical tests for correlated fluctuations in the time series and its histograms were in all cases consistent with statistical control, giving no evidence of a 'cosmogenic' force.
ISSN:0295-5075
1286-4854
DOI:10.1209/0295-5075/87/32001