He jishu (Mar 2024)
Efficient excitation of nuclear isomer 152mEu using a bremsstrahlung radiation source generated by laser plasma
Abstract
BackgroundNuclear isomers are crucial in cosmic element synthesis and have potential applications in controlling nuclear energy release. Specifically, Europium (Eu) is significant in fundamental studies. For instance, 152Eu is used as a reference source for radioactive experiments, and its isomeric state 152m1Eu has a probability of 73% to produce cosmological p-nuclei 152Gd with β- decay. Therefore, 152m1Eu is a crucial nuclide in the nuclearsynthesis of p-nuclei 152Gd.PurposeThis study aims to realize the efficient excitation of 152m1Eu with a bremsstrahlung source generated by laser plasma.MethodsFirstly, the laser-plasma bremsstrahlung source was utilized to achieve the efficient excitation of 152m1Eu (45.6 keV, T1/2=9.31 h) in the experiment with yields of 8×104 particles/shot by this isotope. Then, numerical simulations of the yield of 152m1, m2Eu were performed using the Geant4-GENBOD program to get generation time, and peak excitation efficiency evolution with electron temperature.ResultsThe results demonstrate that when the electron temperature reaches 15 MeV, the yield of 152m1, m2Eu approaches saturation. When the incident electron charge is 17.6 nC, the yield of 152m1Eu is approximately 8×106 particles/shot, and that of 152m2Eu is approximately 2×105 particles/shot. The generation time of 152m1, m2Eu in the target is approximately 32 ps. When the electron temperature reaches 15 MeV, the peak excitation efficiency of 152m1Eu is expected to be ~1017 particles/s, and that of 152m2Eu is expected to be ~1016 particles/s.ConclusionsThe ultrashort ultrahigh intensity laser technology can significantly enhance the excitation efficiency of isotopes of the same nucleus, and this will provide an important research avenue for the study of cosmic element synthesis and nuclear energy release control applications.
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