New pumpkin-shaped nucleus radiates protons with record-setting rate

A new atomic nucleus of lutetium, 149 Lu consisting of 71 protons and 78 neutrons, has been created in an experiment performed in the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.

The fusion of 58 Ni beam particles and 96 Ru target atoms resulted in the discovery of a new isotope. 149 Lu was found to be a rare nuclear decay mode. 149 Lu has the highest decay energy and the shortest half-life of any ground-state protons known to date.

Modern digital signal handling allowstraces to be recorded, which made observation of the swift decay possible. It was found via comparison to theoretical calculations that it is the most oblate deformed.

This is the first time that the models of proton emission are tested. These observations will help to understand the origin of the elements, as well as the atomic mass models for the most exotic isotopes.

The results of this study have been published.

More information: K. Auranen et al, Nanosecond-Scale Proton Emission from Strongly Oblate-Deformed ¹⁴⁹Lu , Physical Review Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.112501 Journal information: Physical Review Letters Citation: New pumpkin-shaped nucleus radiates protons with record-setting rate (2022, March 23) retrieved 23 March 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-03-pumpkin-shaped-nucleus-protons-record-setting.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.