Limit on the existence of 1/f noise in α decay

A study is reported that was designed to search for the existence of a ‘‘1/f’’-noise component in the α-decay process. The experimental design was carefully optimized since simply attaining the Poisson variance limit is difficult when high-precision observations are made. Measurements indicate a ‘‘flicker floor’’ of (2.1±3.7)×10-11. This result is not inconsistent with a complete lack of a 1/f component and is in marked contrast with an earlier …