Beta Decay - Double Beta Decay

Double Beta Decay

Some nuclei can undergo double beta decay (ββ decay) where the charge of the nucleus changes by two units. Double beta decay is difficult to study in most practically interesting cases, because both β decay and ββ decay are possible, with probability favoring β decay; the rarer ββ decay process is masked by these events. Thus, ββ decay is usually studied only for beta stable nuclei. Like single beta decay, double beta decay does not change A; thus, at least one of the nuclides with some given A has to be stable with regard to both single and double beta decay.