Activity standardization of two enriched 40K solutions for the determination of decay scheme parameters and the half-life

• In this paper we describe experiments on two enriched K-40 solutions to accurately determine decay data. The first solution was measured in 2004/2005 by means of a gamma-ray spectrometer with low background and a liquid scintillation (LS) counter to apply the CIEMAT/NIST efficiency tracing method. A combination of results yields an emission probability of the 1461 keV gamma-rays of P-gamma = 0.1030(11) which is lower than current results of data evaluations. The activity concentration of the second solution was also determined by means of LS counting, but here, the CIEMAT/NIST efficiency tracing method as well as the TDCR method were applied. Again, the result was combined with that of independent gamma-ray spectrometry and the gamma-ray emission probability was found to be P-gamma = 0.1029(9) in good agreement with the result obtained from the first solution. A combination of both experiments yields P-gamma = 0.1029(9). The spectra of a TriCarb LS counter were carefully analyzed and a beta minus emission probability P beta- = 0.8954(14) was determined. The new results for P-gamma and P-beta-indicate that the overall probability of the decay via EC in recent data evaluations is overestimated. The LS counting efficiencies were computed with a stochastic model and up-to-date calculations of the beta spectrum and fractional EC probabilities were used. The final activity result of the second solution is combined with the outcome of a comprehensive isotopic analysis to determine the half-life of K-40 which is found to be 1.2536(27) .10(9) years. All above-stated uncertainties are standard uncertainties (k = 1).

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geofysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geophysics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

K-40

Activity standardization

Liquid scintillation counting

TDCR

CIEMAT/NIST efficiency Tracing

Branching ratio

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)