Published December 2004 | Version v1
Journal article

Detection of the natural α decay of tungsten

  • 1. Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom)
  • 2. MPI fuer Physik, Foehringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany)
  • 3. Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, 67010 Assergi (Italy)
  • 4. Physikdepartment E-15, TU Muenchen, James-Franck-Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany)

Description

The natural α-decay of 180W has been unambiguously detected for the first time. The α peak is found in a (γ, β, and neutron)-free background spectrum. This has been achieved by the simultaneous measurement of phonon and light signals with the CRESST (Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers) cryogenic detectors. A half-life of T1/2=(1.8±0.2)x1018 years and an energy release of Q=[2516.4±1.1(stat.)±1.2(sys.)] keV have been measured. New limits are also set on the half-lives of the other naturally occurring tungsten isotopes

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics
Journal Volume
70
Journal Issue
6
Journal Page Range
p. 064606-064606.6
ISSN
0556-2813
CODEN
PRVCAN

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2004 The American Physical Society