METHODOLOGY FOR SUPERALLOWED FERMI BETA-DECAY .1. PRELIMINARIES AND DATA

The group of papers, of which this is the first, discusses superallowed Fermi beta-decay in the context of the eight accurately-measured examples: O-14, Al-26(m), Cl-34, K-38(m), Sc-42, V-46, Mn-50 and Co-54. The present paper, following a general introduction, considers the best current figures for the Q(EC)-values and t-values of the eight bodies of concern. It is pointed out that we are here interested not so much in the individual Q(EC)-values and t-values of the individual members of the set of eight as with the way in which all those values jointly determine a single final number, namely the vector coupling constant G(V). In this case a single statistical criterion, based on the total number of input data involved for the entire set (at present 69), should be adopted when considering the admissibility, on statistical grounds, of any single measurement of any single quantity rather than a criterion relating just to the measurements of that single quantity. It is shown that this overall group criterion results in a very satisfactory statistical pattern for all the data relating to the eight bodies taken as a whole. A critical discussion is presented of the role of atomic excitations in the determination of Q(EC)-values and beta-decay rates.