Precision measurement of the decay rate ofBe7in host materials

A controlled and precise determination of the cross sections of the fusion reactions {sup 7}Be(p,{gamma}){sup 8}B and {sup 3}He({sup 4}He,{gamma}){sup 7}Be, which play an important role in determining the solar neutrino flux, necessitates the knowledge of a precise value of the electron-capture half-life of {sup 7}Be. This half-life may depend on the material hosting the {sup 7}Be atoms via small modifications of the electron density around the {sup 7}Be nucleus. In this brief communication we report on the measurement of {sup 7}Be implanted in four materials: copper, aluminum, sapphire, and PVC. The four results are consistent with a null host dependence within two standard deviations and their weighted average of 53.236(39) d agrees very well with the adopted value in the literature, 53.22(6) d. The present results may exhibit a slight (0.22%) increase of the half-life at room temperature for metals compared to insulators that requires further studies.