MOLECULAR FINAL-STATES AFTER BETA-DECAY OF TRITIUM-SUBSTITUTED MOLECULES

Calculations on the ground state of HT and CH3T and the excited states of HHe+ and CH3He+ have been carried out within the sudden approximation to test alternative approaches to existing problems, with the ultimate aim of studying the effects of a molecular environment on the detailed energetics of tritium beta-decay. By using an appropriate projection operator most of the transition probability has been accounted for. Commonly used sum rules are shown to have limited utility. The inaccuracies introduced by describing an excited state by a single spin-adapted configuration are discussed. The problem of determining transition probabilities from configuration-interaction wave functions is highlighted and some solutions are proposed.