dp-b-e-a-records-80-column-standards

name	dp-b-e-a-records-80-column-standards
description	ENSDF DP (Delayed Proton), B (Beta Minus), E (Electron Capture/Beta Plus), and A (Alpha) record 80-column format specifications and field definitions.

DP, B, E, and A Record 80-Column Standards

Use this skill when checking or writing delayed proton, beta minus, electron capture/beta plus, or alpha decay records in ENSDF files.

Record Standards

Delayed Proton Emission Record (DP-Record)

Example:
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
 35XX  DP EP       DE IP     DI EI                                              
 35CL  DP 501      10 3.5    12 9022                                            

Field	Columns	Description
NUCID	1–5	Nucleus (e.g., " 35Cl" or " 35P ")
CONT	6	Continuation label (blank)
SPACE	7	Must be blank
D	8	"D" for delayed particle
P	9	"P" for proton
SPACE	10	Readability space
EP	11–19	Proton energy in keV
DE	20–21	Energy uncertainty
SPACE	22	Readability space
IP	23–29	Proton intensity in percent
DIP	30–31	Uncertainty in IP
SPACE	32	Readability space
EI	33–39	Energy of proton-emitting level in keV

Critical DP Format Rules:

• Delayed Neutron Emission Record (DN-Record), Delayed Alpha Emission Record (DA-Record), Delayed Deuteron Emission Record (DD-Record), and Delayed Triton Emission Record (DT-Record) follow the same format as DP-Records, with "D" in column 8 and "N", "A", "D", or "T" in column 9, respectively.
• Readable spaces at columns 10, 22, and 32 for human readability.
• All field positioning follows standard ENSDF left-justification rules.

Beta Minus Decay Record (B-Record)

Example:
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
 35XX  B EEEE.E    DE IB     DI           LOGFT  DFT                        CUNQ
 35P   B 1572.0    1  100.0  4            5.23   12                         C1U 

Field	Columns	Description
NUCID	1–5	Nucleus (e.g., " 35P " or " 35Cl")
CONT	6	Continuation label
SPACE	7	Must be blank
TYPE	8	"B" for beta minus
SPACE	9	Must be blank
E	10–19	Endpoint energy of β⁻ in keV (no need to edit)
DE	20–21	Energy uncertainty
SPACE	22	Readability space
IB	23–29	Intensity of β⁻-decay branch
DIB	30–31	Uncertainty in IB
SPACE	32–41	Must be blank
SPACE	42	Readability space
LOGFT	43–49	The log ft for the β⁻ transition
DFT	50–55	Uncertainty in LOGFT
SPACE	56–76	Must be blank
C	77	Comment flag ('C' denotes coincidence, '?' denotes probable coincidence)
UN	78–79	Forbiddenness classification ('1U', '2U' for unique forbidden, blank = allowed)
Q	80	'?' denotes uncertain or questionable beta minus decay

Critical B-Record Rules:

• Must follow LEVEL record for the level which is fed by the beta minus decay.
• IB intensity in same units as other intensity fields in file.
• LOGFT for uniqueness classification (col 78-79).
• Blank signifies allowed transition for forbiddenness field.

Electron Capture and Beta Plus Decay Record (E-Record)

Example:
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
 35XX  E EEEE.E    DE IB     DI IE     DI LOGFT  DFT            TI        DICUNQ
 35CL  E 1750.0    5  65.0   8  35.0   5  4.85   15             100.0     8 C1US

Field	Columns	Description
NUCID	1–5	Nucleus (e.g., " 35Cl" or " 35P ")
CONT	6	Continuation label
SPACE	7	Must be blank
TYPE	8	"E" for electron capture
SPACE	9	Must be blank
E	10–19	Energy for electron capture to level (no need to edit)
DE	20–21	Uncertainty in E
SPACE	22	Readability space
IB	23–29	Intensity of β⁺-decay branch
DIB	30–31	Uncertainty in IB
IE	32–39	Intensity of electron capture branch
DIE	40–41	Uncertainty in IE
SPACE	42	Readability space
LOGFT	43–49	The log ft for (ε + β⁺) transition
DFT	50–55	Uncertainty in LOGFT
SPACE	56–64	Must be blank
TI	65–74	Total (ε + β⁺) decay intensity
DTI	75–76	Uncertainty in TI
C	77	Comment flag ('C' denotes coincidence, '?' denotes probable coincidence)
UN	78–79	Forbiddenness classification ('1U', '2U' for unique forbidden, blank = allowed)
Q	80	'?' = uncertain branch, 'S' = expected or assumed transition

Critical E-Record Rules:

• Must follow LEVEL record for the level being populated in the decay.
• IE, IB and TI must be in same units.
• TI = IE + IB for total decay intensity to the level.
• Forbiddenness classification in columns 78-79 ('1U', '2U' for first-, second-unique forbidden).

Alpha Decay Record (A-Record)

Example:
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
235XX  A EEEE.E    DE IA     DI HF     DHF                                  C  Q
204AT  A 6632      6  100    5  1.5    3                                    C  ?

Field	Columns	Description
NUCID	1–5	Nucleus (e.g., " 35P " or "204AT")
CONT	6	Continuation label
SPACE	7	Must be blank
TYPE	8	"A" for alpha decay
SPACE	9	Must be blank
E	10–19	Alpha energy in keV
DE	20–21	Standard uncertainty in E
SPACE	22	Readability space
IA	23–29	Intensity of α-decay branch in percent of the total α decay
DIA	30–31	Standard uncertainty in IA
SPACE	32	Readability space
HF	33–39	Hindrance factor for α decay
DHF	40–41	Standard uncertainty in HF
SPACE	42–76	Must be blank
C	77	Comment flag ('C' denotes coincidence, '?' denotes probable coincidence)
SPACE	78–79	Must be blank
Q	80	'?' = uncertain or questionable α branch, 'S' = expected or predicted α branch

Critical A-Record Rules:

• Must follow the daughter LEVEL record for the level being populated in the α decay.