Alpha decay perturbations by atomic effects at extreme conditions

The alpha tunneling effect in the presence of electron screening is calculated within the Debye model. Calculations show that very small effects are predicted by cooling the metal to low temperatures. However the alpha lifetime decay may be reduced by about 15% if solid samples of the alpha emitters are cooled and compressed to relatively high densities. These conditions can be achieved at high pressures by using existing diamond anvil cells (DACs). Even so, practical consequences for speeding-up the decay of actinides (from the nuclear waste) seem to be negligible.