Decay Properties of Plutonium-244, and Comments on its Existence in Nature

Fields, P. R.; Friedman, A.M.; Milsted, J.; Lerner, J.; Stevens, C. M.; Metta, D.N.; Sabine, W. K.

doi:10.1038/212131a0

Cited by 68 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…This will obviously be truer for some meteorites than others, since, as pointed out by Fields et al [1966], plutonium has two oxidation states: a (IV) state where in plutonium would presumably concentrate with tetravalent uranium and thorium, and a (III) state wherein plutonium would concentrate with the rare earths. As an extinct radioactivity which could only have been produced in an r-process and therefore had to predate the solar system, Pu • should become extremely useful in cosmochronology, as many authors have already pointed out.…”

Section: Pu • In ]Meteoritesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spallation and fissiogenic xenon and krypton from stepwise heating of the Pasamonte achondrite; The case for extinct plutonium 244 in meteorites; Relative ages of chondrites and achondrites

Hohenberg¹,

Munk²,

Reynolds³

1967

J. Geophys. Res.

120

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Following the discovery by Rowe and Kuroda that there are striking excesses of the xenon ratios 134/132 and 136/132 in the Pasamonte achondrite, we performed stepwise heating experiments with this meteorite. Xenon results from three experimental systems were concordant. The ratio 124/130 is linearly correlated with the ratio 126/130, showing a (cosmogenic) spallation component. Ratios reported by other laboratories for total xenon from various achondrites and a mesosiderite fall on this correlation line. The ratio 134/132 is linearly correlated with the ratio 136/132, showing a component presumed to be from fission. The line so defined is a gross but accurate extrapolation of the ‘Pepin line,’ which is now seen to be applicable to both chondrites and achondrites. Our Pasamonte data, taken alone, permit calculation of the isotopic composition of the fission and spallation components which are: fission, 131/132/134/136 = 0.285/1.00/1.06/1.13; spallation, 124/126/130/131/132 (assumed zero) = 0.285/0.995/1.00/4.48/0. Our Pasamonte data combined with Berne data for the highly cosmogenic Stannern achondrite provide an alternative but similar set of values: fission, 131/132/134/136 = 0.31/1.00/0.98/1.02; spallation, 124/126/128/130/131/132 = 0.58/1.00/1.34/0.73/2.76/0.08. Krypton data from the stepwise heating experiment provide ratios 80/84, 82/84, and 83/84 that are linearly correlated, showing a spallation component. Results from other laboratories for total krypton from achondrites and a mesosiderite fall on the correlation line. A preferred composition of the spallation krypton results from Berne measurements on Stannern and our measurements on Pasamonte: 80/82/83/84 = 0.52/0.75/1.00/0.42. The ratio 86/84 does not correlate with the others, suggesting detectable fission krypton in Pasamonte, but background interference makes this a weak conclusion at present. Results for the amounts and compositions of the spallation components agree generally well with calculations based on a formula due to Rudstam and a cosmic‐ray spectrum given by Arnold and co‐workers. The case for 82‐m.y. Pu244 as an extinct radioactivity in meteorites rests on the following evidence: (1) the fission component in xenon differs isotopically from any possible fission component from uranium; (2) the concentration of fission xenon exceeds that attributable to uranium in Pasamonte by at least a factor of 15; (3) arguments are given that rule out other sources of the fission component such as primitive irradiations by slow neutrons, fast neutrons, or γ rays. Previous experiments on ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites can be reexamined in light of the Pu244 hypothesis. At face value, the fission components for chondrites are very large, suggesting that ordinary chondrites cooled at least 168 m.y. earlier than achondrites, and carbonaceous chondrites cooled at least 416 m.y. earlier than achondrites. An initial Pu/U ratio in carbonaceous chondrites would have to exceed 0.26, a result that would require that there was extensive local nucleosynthesis o...

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Section: Pu • In ]Meteoritesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spallation and fissiogenic xenon and krypton from stepwise heating of the Pasamonte achondrite; The case for extinct plutonium 244 in meteorites; Relative ages of chondrites and achondrites

Hohenberg¹,

Munk²,

Reynolds³

1967

J. Geophys. Res.

120

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“…The same year, using a simple calculation of the amount of fissiogenic 136 Xe in the atmosphere, Kuroda (1960) postulated that 244 Pu spontaneous fission was the source of this excess. Fields et al (1966) measured the decay constant of the spontaneous and alpha decay of 244 Pu, followed by Alexander et al (1971) who determined the fission yield by measuring xenon isotopes on 14.7 mg of PuO 2 for 23 months after its precipitation and degassing. 244 Pu was detected on Earth in the mineral bastnäsite by Hoffman et al (1971).…”

Section: Brief History Of the Discovery Of 244 Pu On Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Noble gas constraints on the origin and evolution of Earth’s volatiles

Moreira¹

2013

GeochemPersp

118

164

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“…The primordial xenon isotopes were pro duced in stars by the r-, p-, and s-processes (Burbidge et al, 1957;Clayton, 1975). Xenon also has a radiogenic component from the decay of extinct 1291 (Reynolds, 1960;Jeffrey and Reynolds, 1961) and a fissiogenic component from the spontaneous fission of 238U (Wetherill, 1953) and 244Pu Fields et al, 1966). We use 130Xe as the reference isotope be cause it is shielded by 130Te from production by fission.…”

Section: Noble Gas Abundancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A noble gas technique for the identification of mantle and crustal materials and its application to the Kuroko deposits.

Manuel

1994

Geochem. J.

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In this paper, we propose to use noble gas abundance patterns and isotopic ratios to distinguish between mantle and crustal origin of different types of geological samples. The Kuroko deposits were selected as our first application.The mantle, the crust, and the atmosphere have different noble gas abundance patterns and isotopic ratios. The relative abundances of He and Ne are high in the mantle. The heavy noble gases-Ar, Kr and Xe-are enriched in seawater and seawater-related products. The 3He/4He and 129Xe/130Xe isotopic ratios are usually higher for the mantle than for the atmosphere and the crust. These properties may be used to distinguish the source of geological samples. In this work, the abundances of Ne, Ar and Xe and the isotopic ratios of Ar and Xe were determined for 18 Kuroko ore samples. The concentrations of. Ne, Ar, and Xe in the Kuroko ores are like those of magmatic rocks. The abundance pattern of noble gases in the Kuroko ores parallels that of mantle-derived samples. Distribution coefficients of noble gases were calcu lated from two submarine diabase samples that equilibrated with seawater. Assuming these solid-liquid distribution coefficients can be applied to Kuroko and other magmatic rocks, we calculated the noble gas concentrations of their hypothetical source fluids. The results were used to compute the relative contribu tions of magmatic source fluid and seawater to the Kuroko ore-forming fluid. Based on Xe data, the relative contributions of magmatic source and seawater to the Kuroko ore fluid are calculated to be 75% and 25%, respectively.

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Decay Properties of Plutonium-244, and Comments on its Existence in Nature

Cited by 68 publications

References 11 publications

Spallation and fissiogenic xenon and krypton from stepwise heating of the Pasamonte achondrite; The case for extinct plutonium 244 in meteorites; Relative ages of chondrites and achondrites

Spallation and fissiogenic xenon and krypton from stepwise heating of the Pasamonte achondrite; The case for extinct plutonium 244 in meteorites; Relative ages of chondrites and achondrites

Noble gas constraints on the origin and evolution of Earth’s volatiles

A noble gas technique for the identification of mantle and crustal materials and its application to the Kuroko deposits.

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