On the influence of the nuclear quadrupole moment on the β-decay of deformed nuclei

It is pointed out that in none of the previous treatments of the quadrupole interaction in β-decay have the relevant boundary conditions on the final state been recognized or observed. The discrepancy between a purely perturbative treatment and some slightly more exact treatments is shown to stem, ultimately, from this circumstance. Similarly, the basic argument behind the prediction of discontinuities in the β-spectra of deformed nuclei is incompatible with the pertaining boundary conditions on the final state. A straightforward adherence to the proper boundary conditions results in discontinuities which, in general, are much smaller than previously anticipated. The failure to see a predicted discontinuity in a reported preliminary experiment on the β-decay of ¹⁷⁰Tm is entirely understandable, without any assumption of some kind of further hindrance in the decay.