Fermi: a theory of beta decay

What changed

Formulated a contact-interaction beta-decay theory with electron and neutrino creation in nuclear transitions.

Scientific scope

The record targets Fermi's 1934 Il Nuovo Cimento paper, not every 1933 preliminary communication or the German translation. Its original vector-coupling theory predates the later V-A weak-interaction structure, electroweak theory and experimental refinements.

Evidence

The linked sources identify this contribution and its scope. WRS has not independently reconstructed the scientific claims. The record targets Fermi's 1934 Il Nuovo Cimento paper, not every 1933 preliminary communication or the German translation. Its original vector-coupling theory predates the later V-A weak-interaction structure, electroweak theory and experimental refinements.

Contributors

• Enrico Fermi · SCIENCE: Named source author of the scoped work; individual effort shares are not measured.

• Springer record for Fermi beta-decay paper
• Accademia dei Lincei digital Fermi collected works

Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-16.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.

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