Nuclear isomer

A nuclear isomer is a metastable state of an atomic nucleus, in which one or more nucleons (protons or neutrons) occupy higher energy levels than in the ground state of the same nucleus. "Metastable" describes nuclei whose excited states have half-lives 100 to 1000 times longer than the half-lives of the excited nuclear states that decay with a "prompt" half life (ordinarily on the order of 10−12 seconds). The term "metastable" is usually restricted to isomers with half-lives of 10−9 seconds or longer. Some references recommend 5 × 10−9 seconds to distinguish the metastable half life from the normal "prompt" gamma-emission half-life. Occasionally the half-lives are far longer than this and can last minutes, hours, or years. For example, the nuclear isomer survives so long (at least 1015 years) that it has never been observed to decay spontaneously. The half-life of a nuclear isomer can even exceed that of the ground state of the same nuclide, as shown by as well as , , and multiple

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Dynamical Control of Nuclear Isomer Depletion via Electron Vortex Beams

Fabrizio Carbone, Simone Gargiulo

Some nuclear isomers are known to store a large amount of energy over long periods of time, with a very high energy-to-mass ratio. Here, we describe a protocol to achieve the external control of the isomeric nuclear decay by using electron vortex beams whose wave function has been especially designed and reshaped on demand. Recombination of these electrons into the isomer???s atomic shell can lead to the controlled release of the stored nuclear energy. On the example of 93mMo, we show theoretically that the use of tailored electron vortex beams increases the depletion by 4 orders of magnitude compared to the spontaneous nuclear decay of the isomer. Furthermore, specific orbitals can sustain an enhancement of the recombination cross section for vortex electron beams by as much as 6 orders of magnitude, providing a handle for manipulating the capture mechanism. These findings open new prospects for controlling the interplay between atomic and nuclear degrees of freedom, with potential energy-related and high-energy radiation source applications.

AMER PHYSICAL SOC2022

Acid-base-induced fac → mer isomerization of luminescent iridium(iii) complexes

Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Anastasia Gitlina, Carolina Luciana Plaice, Albert Ruggi, Kay Severin

Luminescent Ir(C^N)3 complexes (C^N = cyclometalated arylpyridine ligand) exist in the form of two stable isomers with distinct photophysical and electrochemical properties: fac and mer. Herein, we show that fac-Ir(C^N)3 complexes can be converted into the thermodynamically less stable mer forms by a consecutive reaction with first acid and then base. The chemically induced isomerization is fast, quantitative, and stereoselective, and it can be inversed by light. The new isomerization process opens the possibility to use highly luminescent Ir(C^N)3 complexes as molecular switches.

2022

Nuclear Excitation by Free Muon Capture

Fabrizio Carbone, Simone Gargiulo, Ivan Madan

Efficient excitation of nuclei via exchange of a real or virtual photon has a fundamental importance for nuclear science and technology development. Here, we present a mechanism of nuclear excitation based on the capture of a free muon into the atomic orbits (NE mu C). The cross section of such a proposed process is evaluated using the Feshbach projection operator formalism and compared to other known excitation phenomena, i.e., photoexcitation and nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC), showing up to 10 orders of magnitude increase in cross section. NE mu C is particularly interesting for MeV excitations that become accessible thanks to the stronger binding of muons to the nucleus. The binding energies of muonic atoms have been calculated introducing a state of the art modification to the Flexible Atomic Code. An analysis of experimental scenarios in the context of modern muon production facilities shows that the effect can be detectable for selected isotopes. The total probability of NE mu C is predicted to be P approximate to 1 x 10-6 per incident muon in a beam-based scenario. Given the high transition energy provided by muons, NE mu C can have important consequences for isomer feeding and particle-induced fission.

AMER PHYSICAL SOC2022

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