Identification of 26-minute Zr-84
Keyword(s):
Γ Ray
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An unknown γ-ray of energy 112.5 keV was found in zirconium fractions chemically extracted from isotopically enriched molybdenum targets bombarded with 500 and 800 MeV protons. All evidence suggests that the γ-ray is identifiable with the decay of 84Zr to 84Y. A half-life of 25.7 ± 0.5 min was obtained for 84Zr, which is considerably longer than previously reported half-lives. The absolute abundance of the 112.5 keV γ-ray was also determined. Relative production cross sections for 84Zr were calculated using these results and were consistent with the values interpolated from isotopic distribution curves for spallation reactions.