Concerning the variability of beta-decay measurements

Abstract

Many experiments have been carried out to study the beta-decay rates of a variety of nuclides, and many - but not all - of these experiments yield evidence of variability of these rates. While there is as yet no accepted theory to explain patterns in the results, a number of conjectures have been proposed. We discuss three prominent conjectures (which are not mutually exclusive) - that variability of beta-decay rates may be due to (a) environmental influences, (b) solar neutrinos, and (c) cosmic neutrinos. We find evidence in support of each of these conjectures.