Efficient production of $^{229m}$Th via nuclear excitation by electron capture
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866913396696285184 |
|---|---|
| author | Zhao, Jingyan Pálffy, Adriana Keitel, Christoph H. Wu, Yuanbin |
| author_facet | Zhao, Jingyan Pálffy, Adriana Keitel, Christoph H. Wu, Yuanbin |
| contents | The nuclear isomeric state $^{229m}$Th with an exceptionally low excitation energy makes the $^{229}$Th isotope a crucial candidate for nuclear clocks and many other applications. Efficient and controllable production of $^{229m}$Th is essential and still remains a challenge. Here we report a novel approach for efficient production of $^{229m}$Th by the excitation of $^{229}$Th to the above-lying excited state at $29.19$ keV energy via the process of nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC). We show theoretically that the production rate of $^{229m}$Th per nucleus with accessible conditions can be six orders of magnitude larger than the value experimentally demonstrated using $29$-keV synchrotron radiation for this indirect excitation. With the efficient production of $^{229m}$Th, our results identify scenarios, as well as the characteristic NEEC signature with which NEEC events could be unambiguously identified, for a clear experimental identification of the long-sought NEEC phenomenon. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_12497 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Efficient production of $^{229m}$Th via nuclear excitation by electron capture Zhao, Jingyan Pálffy, Adriana Keitel, Christoph H. Wu, Yuanbin Nuclear Theory The nuclear isomeric state $^{229m}$Th with an exceptionally low excitation energy makes the $^{229}$Th isotope a crucial candidate for nuclear clocks and many other applications. Efficient and controllable production of $^{229m}$Th is essential and still remains a challenge. Here we report a novel approach for efficient production of $^{229m}$Th by the excitation of $^{229}$Th to the above-lying excited state at $29.19$ keV energy via the process of nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC). We show theoretically that the production rate of $^{229m}$Th per nucleus with accessible conditions can be six orders of magnitude larger than the value experimentally demonstrated using $29$-keV synchrotron radiation for this indirect excitation. With the efficient production of $^{229m}$Th, our results identify scenarios, as well as the characteristic NEEC signature with which NEEC events could be unambiguously identified, for a clear experimental identification of the long-sought NEEC phenomenon. |
| title | Efficient production of $^{229m}$Th via nuclear excitation by electron capture |
| topic | Nuclear Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.12497 |