New exotic and non-standard radionuclides in AMS

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Date
2011-03-21
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Publisher
GNS Science
Abstract
Isobaric interference represents one of the major limitations in mass spectrometry. In the very few cases in AMS where nature allows isobaric-free measurements, lowest background levels are accessible. Such conditions are given, if the isobar does not form stable negative ions either as atomic ion, or by choosing a suitable molecular species; well-known examples are e.g. 14C−, 26Al−, 129I−, or 41CaH3 −, respectively, and also for the unstable isotopes in the mass range above Bi. In this work, we will present a few additional cases where isobaric interference is completely excluded, among them 55Fe, 68Ge and 202Pb. Applications will be discussed where the exceptional sensitivity of AMS offers important insights to such different fields like nuclear astrophysics, nuclear physics and general physics issues. VERA, a dedicated AMS facility, based on a 3-MV tandem, featuring high mass resolution in combination with efficient background suppression and an automated measurement procedure, allows to transport all nuclides from hydrogen to the actinides through the system up to the detector stations. Such a facility is well suited for developing the tuning and measurement procedures for new and non-standard isotopes. We will demonstrate the actual measurement limits of such radionuclides for the VERA facility and results for selected applications. In order to generate final values AMS usually relies on the parallel measurement of reference materials. We will discuss the production of such materials for these non-standard AMS nuclides.Copyright (c) 2011 AMS12.
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Keywords
Radioisotopes, Accelerators, Mass spectroscopy, Atomic ions, Tandem electrostatic accelerators, Nuclear physics
Citation
Wallner, A., Buczak, K., Plompen, A., Schumann, D., Semkova, V., (2011). New exotic and non-standard radionuclides in AMS. Presentation to the 12th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS 12), 20th - 25th March 2011. Museum of New Zealand: Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand.