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Title: Observation of novel radioactive decay by spontaneous emission of complex nuclei

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5772870

Two years of experimental investigation on the subject of spontaneous emission of intermediate-mass fragments is described in this manuscript. A short introduction on this subject and a historical review are presented in chapter 1. In chapter 2, the author describe the experimental methods which led to the observation of /sup 14/C emission in polycarbonate etched-track detectors from the isotopes /sup 222/Ra, /sup 223/Ra, /sup 224/Ra and /sup 226/Ra at the branching ratios with respect to ..cap alpha..-decay of (3.7 +/- 0.6) x 10/sup -10/, (6.1 +/- 1.0) x 10/sup -10/, (4.3 +/- 1.2) x 10/sup -10/ and (2.9 +/- 1.0) x 10/sup -11/ respectively. Branching ratio limits for heavy-ion emission from /sup 221/Fr, /sup 221/Ra and /sup 225/Ac were determined to be at < 5.0 x 10/sup -14/, < 1.2 x 10/sup -13/ and < 4.0 x 10/sup -13/ respectively for the 90% C.L. The emission of /sup 24/Ne from /sup 232/U at a branching ratio of (2.0 +/- 0.5) x 10/sup -12/ has been discovered using polyethylene terephthalate etched-track plastics. A confirmation of /sup 24/Ne and/or /sup 25/Ne emission from /sup 233/U at a branching ratio of (5.3 +/- 2.3) x 10/sup -13/ is also reported. In chapter 3, three models of intermediate-mass decay are discussed-the analytic superasymmetric fission model, the model by Shi and Swiatecki, and a model based on a square-well + Coulomb potential.

Research Organization:
California Univ., Berkeley (USA)
OSTI ID:
5772870
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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