Spectrum of secondary electrons emitted during the nuclear β–-decay of the tritium atom

Abstract

Ionization of the final ${}^{3}$He$^{+}$ ion during the nuclear $\beta^{-}$-decay of the tritium atom is discussed. The velocity spectrum of the emitted secondary electrons is derived in the explicit form. Our method allows to determine the relative and absolute probabilities of formation of the final states in few-electron atoms which include `free' secondary electrons moving with different velocities. \noindent PACS number(s): 23.40.-s, 12.20.Ds and 14.60.Cd