Pushing the Limits: A New Measurement of Superheavy Nuclei Half-Life
2025-02-01
Researchers have pushed the limit of known half-lives of superheavy nuclei by two orders of magnitude by measuring the half-life of a neutron-deficient rutherfordium isotope. The extremely short half-life was measured by exploiting the longer half-life of excited states, providing insights into nuclear fission. The team bombarded a lead target with titanium-50 ions to create rutherfordium-252, measuring its half-life in excited and ground states as 13 microseconds and 60 nanoseconds, respectively. This challenges existing theoretical models and opens avenues for studying heavier superheavy elements.