New pumpkin shaped nucleus radiates protons with record setting rate


Date:
March 23, 2022
Source:
University of Jyva"skyla" - Jyva"skyla"n yliopisto
Summary:
A new atomic nucleus 149-Lutetium, consisting of 71 protons and
78 neutrons, has been synthesized.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new atomic nucleus 149-Lutetium, consisting of 71 protons and 78
neutrons, has been synthesized in an experiment performed in the
Accelerator Laboratory of University of Jyva"skyla", Finland.


==========================================================================
The new isotope was found among the products of fusion of 58Ni beam
particles and 96Ru target atoms, and it was identified in the detector
setup of the MARA separator. 149Lu was found to decay into 148Yb via spontaneous proton emission, which is a rare nuclear decay mode. Decay properties of 149Lu were measured to be exceptional; It has the highest
decay energy and the shortest directly measured half-life of any
ground-state proton emitter known to date.

Observation of the swift decay was made possible by modern digital signal handling that allows "traces" to be recorded, see attached figure for a
few examples. Additionally, it was found via comparison to theoretical calculations that it is the most oblate deformed ("pumpkin shaped")
proton emitter.

This is the first instance when the models of proton emission are tested against such a strong oblate deformation. These observations will help to develop the theory of proton emission as well as the atomic mass models
for the most exotic isotopes, both models are needed to understand the
origin of the elements. The results of this study have been published
as the Editors' Suggestion in Physical Review Letters.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Jyva"skyla"_-_Jyva"skyla"n_yliopisto. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Artist's_impression_of_decay_of_149Lu ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. K. Auranen, A. D. Briscoe, L. S. Ferreira, T. Grahn,
P. T. Greenlees, A. Herza'ň, A. Illana,
D. T. Joss, H.

Joukainen, R. Julin, H. Jutila, M. Leino, J. Louko, M. Luoma, E.

Maglione, J. Ojala, R. D. Page, J. Pakarinen, P. Rahkila, J.

Romero, P. Ruotsalainen, M. Sandzelius, J. Sare'n,
A. Tolosa-Delgado, J.

Uusitalo, G. Zimba. Nanosecond-Scale Proton Emission from Strongly
Oblate-Deformed Lu149. Physical Review Letters, 2022; 128 (11)
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.112501 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220323101255.htm

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