| Title | Toward an accurate determination of half-life of Sm isotope. |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tavares, O.A.P.; Terranova, M.Letizia |
| Journal | Appl Radiat Isot |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.apradiso.2018.04.001 |
| Abstract |
The task of an accurate determination of alpha-decay rate of Sm isotope, a topic of importance in both basic and applied science, has been performed in the present research following two different routes. First, a critical review and data analysis of the whole set of half-life values obtained till date yielded an average of 106.3 ± 0.5 Ga. Second, a one-parameter, semi-empirical model for alpha emission from nuclei, developed in the framework of quantum mechanical tunneling mechanism through a Coulomb-plus-centrifugal-plus-overlapping potential barrier, that yielded a value of 108.2 ± 3.0 Ga. The good agreement found between the half-life values obtained from these procedures represents a net progress toward the assessment of a reliable Sm alpha-decay rate to be used in geo- and cosmo-chronological investigations. |
See more Samarium products. Samarium (atomic symbol: Sm, atomic number: 62) is a Block F, Group 3, Period 6 element with an atomic radius of 150.36. 
The number of electrons in each of samarium's shells is 2, 8, 18, 24, 8, 2 and its electron configuration is [Xe]4f6 6s2. The samarium atom has a radius of 180 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 229 pm. In its elemental form, samarium has a silvery-white appearance. 
Samarium is not found as free element in nature. It is found in the minerals cerite, gadolinite, samarskite, monazite and bastnäsite. Samarium is classified as a rare earth element and is the 40th most abundant element in the Earth's crust. Samarium was discovered and first isolated by Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1879. It is named after the mineral samarskite, the mineral from which it was isolated.