GATE Nuclear and Particle Physics: alpha decay, beta-decay, electromagnetic transitions in nuclei – Previous Year Questions

6 GATE previous year questions on alpha decay, beta-decay, electromagnetic transitions in nuclei (Nuclear and Particle Physics, Physics) with answers and explanations, from every paper.

1. GATE 2022 PH Q12 (1 mark, Multiple choice) – Match beta-decay order for 1. X(1/2+) Y(1/2+), 2. X(1/2-) Y(5/2+), 3. X(3+) Y(0+), 4. X(4-) Y(0+). Labels i,ii,iii,iv denote first forbidden, second…
2. GATE 2023 PH Q23 (1 mark, Multiple choice) – A 60Co nucleus emits a β-particle and is converted to 60Ni* with JP= 4+, which in turn decays to the 60Ni ground state with JP= 0+ by emitting two…
3. GATE 2023 PH Q62 (2 marks, Numerical answer) – At rest 241 94Am237 92 U+. The respective rest masses are 224.544, 220.811 and 3.728 GeV/c squared. Find the alpha kinetic energy (source units MeV/c…
4. GATE 2025 PH Q27 (1 mark, Multiple select) – Which of the following consideration(s) is/are showing that nuclear beta decay, n → p+ e− + ν̅e, has to be a three-body decay?
5. GATE 2025 PH Q48 (2 marks, Multiple select) – Consider two hypothetical nuclei X1 and X2 undergoing β decay, resulting in nuclei Y1 and Y2, respectively. The decay scheme and the corresponding JP…
6. GATE 2024 PH Q19 (1 mark, Multiple choice) – Let Ne and Te, respectively, denote number and kinetic energy of electrons produced in a nuclear beta decay. Which one of the following distributions…