Forbidden beta decay affected by an intense, low-frequency, linearly polarized electromagnetic field

A study is made of the effect of an intense, low frequency, linearly polarized, plane-wave electromagnetic field on nuclei undergoing beta decay. Special attention is given to forbidden beta decay, in which the usual selection rules on angular momentum and/or parity are violated. A non-perturbative theory with combined analytical and numerical calculations indicates that low frequency, linearly polarized fields whose wavelength is many orders of magnitude larger than nuclear sizes can alter significantly the decay rates for some forbidden 6 decays. The applied field must satisfy certain conditions that are measured by an intensity parameter whose magnitude is proportional to the square of the ratio of field amplitude to field frequency. Such fields are not in the nuclear gamma ray range, and the frequency can be as low as radio frequency.