Search results for "thorium"
showing 10 items of 37 documents
New Developments in the Production and Research of Actinide Elements
2022
Atoms 10(2), 61 (2022). doi:10.3390/atoms10020061
Nuclear Data for the Thorium Fuel Cycle and the Transmutation of Nuclear Waste
2016
Neutron-induced reaction cross sections play an important role in a wide variety of research fields, ranging from stellar nucleosynthesis, the investigation of nuclear level density studies, to applications of nuclear technology, including the transmutation of nuclear waste, accelerator-driven systems, and nuclear fuel cycle investigations. Simulations of nuclear technology applications largely rely on evaluated nuclear data libraries. These libraries are based both on experimental data and theoretical models. An outline of experimental nuclear data activities at CERN’s neutron time-of-flight facility, n_TOF, will be presented.
Mass mapping of a new area of neutron-deficient suburanium nuclides
2002
Abstract The masses of 64 short-lived neutron-deficient nuclides covering the element range from tungsten to uranium have been obtained for the first time. They have been evaluated by combining directly measured masses from Schottky mass spectrometry with linked experimental Q-values in α-decay chains. Based on these new mass data we have determined the one-proton and two-proton drip-lines as well as the size of the “littoral shallow” of the sea of instability. No evidence of a Thomas–Ehrman shift has been found in the region of the investigated heavy nuclides. A peculiar behavior of two-proton separation energies has been observed in the lead region. The predictive power of various mass mo…
Heavy isotopes of actinium: 229Ac, 230Ac, 231Ac and 232Ac
1973
Abstract By irradiation of 232Th with 150-MeV bremsstrahlung and with 14-MeV neutrons, three new neutron-rich isotopes of actinium, 230Ac, 231Ac and 232Ac, were produced and identified and the previously reported isotope, 229Ac, was confirmed. The actinium isotopes were chemically isolated by a fast procedure based on elution with α-hydroxyisobutyric acid from cation exchange resins. For 229Ac, a half-life of 62·7 ± 0·5 min and a β-ray energy of 1·14 ± 0·15 MeV were found; 35 γ-rays were observed, the strongest ones with the following energies and relative intensities: 135·3(34), 146·4(35), 164·6(100), 252·2(24), 261·9(39), 317·0(23), 539·9(20), 569·1(91), and 605·2 keV(23). For 230Ac, a ha…
Spectroscopy of Rn, Ra and Th isotopes using multi-nucleon transfer reactions
1999
Abstract High-spin spectroscopy of Rn, Ra and Th isotopes has been performed. The nuclei have been populated using multi-nucleon transfer reactions involving a 232 Th target and a 136 Xe projectile. This type of reaction offers the only mechanism for populating high-spin states in many of these nuclei. Interleaving bands with opposite parities have been observed to high spin ( ∼28 h ) in 218,220,222 Rn, 222,224,226,228 Ra and 228,230,234 Th. A systematic study of the rotational alignment properties of octupole bands in radon, radium and thorium isotopes reveals information concerning the role of the octupole phonon and the onset of stable octupole deformation with increasing rotational freq…
Hepatocellular carcinoma after thorotrast exposure: establishment of a new cell line (Mz-Hep-1).
1985
A human hepatoma cell line, associated with thorotrast exposure, from an hepatitis B marker-negative patient was established as a permanent cell line (Mz-Hep-1) in tissue culture. Histology of the primary tumor, as well as phase contrast, transmission and scanning electron microscopy of the cultured cells showed typical characteristics of liver cells. Mz-Hep-1 cells secreted complement components (C2, C3, C4), carcinoembryonic antigen, lactate dehydrogenase, chymotrypsin, haptoglobin and retinol-binding protein and expressed HLA-, transferrin-, blood group B-related determinants and complement component C5 and carcinoembryonic antigen on their cell surface. Mz-Hep-1 cells represent the firs…
Internal conversion from excited electronic states of 229Th ions
2017
The process of internal conversion from excited electronic states is investigated theoretically for the case of the vacuum-ultraviolet nuclear transition of 229Th. Due to the very low transition energy, the 229Th nucleus offers the unique possibility to open the otherwise forbidden internal conversion nuclear decay channel for thorium ions via optical laser excitation of the electronic shell. We show that this feature can be exploited to investigate the isomeric state properties via observation of internal conversion from excited electronic configurations of Th+ and Th2+ ions. A possible experimental realization of the proposed scenario at the nuclear laser spectroscopy facility IGISOL in J…
Excited states in neutron deficient even-even thorium isotopes (218?A?222)
1985
The nuclei218, 220, 222Th were investigated by conversion electron andγ-ray spectroscopy after compound nucleus reactions of14N with209Bi and16, 18O with208Pb. The intenseγ-background from fission was suppressed by spectroscopy of conversion electrons andγ-rays in coincidence with the evaporation residues or theirα-decay. Level schemes were determined for218Th up toIπ=10+ and for220Th and222Th up toIπ=15−. The observed structure of218Th may be explained in the spherical shell model with residual interaction by two neutron excitation. ForN≧130 completely different level schemes are observed showing very intense, collective electric dipole transitions (B(E1)−10−2 W.u.) with energies of typica…
Spectroscopic study of228-234Th nuclei using multi-nucleon transfer reactions
1999
Light-actinide nuclei in the octupole deformed region have been populated using multi-nucleon transfer from Th. The energy level schemes of several thorium isotopes with A = 228-234 have been extended up to and negative parity states have been observed for the first time in Th. A systematic study of the difference in alignment between the positive- and negative-parity bands in thorium nuclei in this mass region shows that Th behave like octupole vibrators, in contrast with Th, which are octupole-deformed in character. An intrinsic electric dipole moment has been measured for the first time in Th. The small value obtained is consistent with the vibrational description of this nucleus.
Production and characterization of a custom-made 228Th source with reduced neutron source strength for the Borexino experiment
2012
A custom-made 228Th source of several MBq activity was produced for the Borexino experiment for studying the external background of the detector. The aim was to reduce the unwanted neutron emission produced via (alpha,n) reactions in ceramics used typically for commercial 228Th sources. For this purpose a ThCl4 solution was converted chemically into ThO2 and embedded into a gold foil. The paper describes the production and the characterization of the custom-made source by means of gamma-activity, dose rate and neutron source strength measurements. From gamma-spectroscopic measurements it was deduced that the activity transfer from the initial solution to the final source was >91% (at 68%…