PROPOSED TOPIC: Alpha Disintegration Energy of

Radioactive Isotopes

NAME OF CANDIDATE: Muhammad SULEIMAN

REGISTRATION NUMBER: PGA/19/09/06/08803

DEGREE IN VIEW: M. Sc. (Physics)

SUPERVISOR: Prof Y. H. Nggada ……………………

CO-SUPERVISOR: …………………….

DEPARTMENT: Physics
1.1 Background of the study

In alpha decay process, the parent isotope emits two protons and two neutrons (Z = 2 and A = 4),

which is called an alpha particle (helium-4 nucleus) (Derya et al., 2019). An example of this

decay occurs in the uranium-238 nucleus that decays into thorium-234 nucleus.

Alpha particle has a relatively large mass, positive electric charge, and poor radiation

penetration, and it can be stopped by a paper sheet (Derya et al., 2019). Alpha decay is

observed for the elements heavier than lead and for a few nuclei as light as

the lanthanide elements (Gregory et al., 2002). The decay energy can be calculated from the

known atomic masses, because the binding energy released (spontaneous decay processes

must be exoergic) corresponds to a disappearance of mass. Alpha decay is the nuclear decay

process whereby the parent nucleus emits an alpha particle. The alpha particle, structurally

equivalent to the nucleus of a helium atom and denoted by the Greek letter α, consists of

two protons and two neutrons (Michael, 2023). Alpha particles are emitted as decay products of

many radionuclides that possess a large nucleus, predominantly of atomic number greater than

81. However, alpha-particle emissions also occur from very proton-rich lighter nuclei.

The alpha particle has a path of about 10 µm, with a cascade of about 265 displacements at the

end of its range. Although recombination will take place, point defects and eventually extended

defects (dislocations, dislocation loops) will survive in the crystal lattice, resulting in changes in

the properties of the materials (Rudy et al., 2020).

The spontaneous emission of an alpha-particle by the heavier nuclei is related with a penetration

by the emitted alpha-particle through a region of very high potential energy near the nuclear

surface; the region owes its existence to the repulsive potential between the nucleus and the

alpha-particle and would act, in classical mechanics, as a barrier preventing emission. The
penetration is a quantum-mechanical effect. Its probability depends very critically on the shape

and the height of the potential energy barrier and on the kinetic energy of the alpha particle after

penetration. The height is given by the nuclear radius r’, since the alpha-particle is under the

influence of the Coulomb repulsion without any compensating nuclear attraction when its

distance from the center is larger than r’. The probability of penetration of the barrier is closely

related with the lifetime of the decaying nucleus (Kenneth, 2018). The half-lives of 232 90 Th

and 238 92 U are greater than 109 years and the final Pb isotopes are stable. Yet the intermediate

alpha decay stages have much shorter half-lives. Some have less than one hour or even one

second and successive stages show generally a decrease in half life and an increase in alpha

decay energy as the final Pb isotope is approached. The reason that successive stage of the decay

of 232 90 Th and 238 92 U show a decrease in half life and an increase in alpha decay energy as

the final Pb isotopes are approached is that the coulomb barrier formed between the alpha

particle and the daughter nucleus during alpha emission obstructs the decay. The energy of the

alpha particle increases, the probability of its penetrating the barrier increase, and so half-life of

the nucleus decreases. One method for estimating the decay rate or half-life for alpha decay is to

use a realistic (mean-field) nuclear potential that includes deformation to calculate the

penetrability of the sum of the nuclear and Coulomb potentials and then estimate the formation

probability of an alpha particle. While this approach may appear promising, it has a considerable

problem in that a realistic nuclear potential applicable to the whole nuclear mass region has yet

to be determined in nuclear theory (Cottingham, 2014).

The attractive forces between nucleons are of short range, the total binding energy in a nucleus is

approximately proportional to its mass number A, the number of nucleons it contains. The

repulsive electric forces between protons, however, are of unlimited range, and the total
disruptive energy in a nucleus is approximately proportional to Z2 (Arthur, 2003). Nuclei which

contain 210 or more nucleons are so large that the short-range nuclear forces that hold them

together are barely able to counterbalance the mutual repulsion of their protons. Alpha decay

occurs in such nuclei as a means of increasing their stability by reducing their size. To escape

from a nucleus, a particle must have kinetic energy, and only the alpha-particle mass is

sufficiently smaller than that of its constituent nucleons for such energy to be available. The

observed disintegration energies in alpha decay agree with the predicted values based upon the

nuclear masses involved. The kinetic energy KE_ of the emitted alpha particle is never quite

equal to the disintegration energy Q because, since momentum must be conserved, the nucleus

recoils with a small amount of kinetic energy when the alpha particle emerges.

1.2 Statement of the problem

The issue of precise determining the Q value of radioactive isotope alpha decay processes was

discussed in the study. The methods do not need necessary precision that hinders our

understanding of degradation processes. The development advanced methods of overcoming this

barrier through the integration of theoretical model evidence. The nuclear processes that affect

everything from basic atomic physics to applications in nuclear energy, astronomy and therpy

require a better knowledge of the Q value.

1.3 Objectives

The thorough examination of the energetic aspects of radioactive decay with the aim of

achieving the following objectives:

i. to calculate analytically the Q values impact on radioactive isotopes half-lives with their

involvement in decay chains,

ii. to examine alpha decay in light, medium and heavy nuclei,

iii. to plot energy disintegration against fundamental variables and

iv. to compare the results with other works.

1.4 Significance of the study

The important of this research is in advancing our understanding of alpha decay processes,

providing accurate and efficient formulas for predicting alpha-decay half-lives. The procedure

has the minimized uncertainty and dependency on coefficients, have the potential to be valuable

tools for researchers in Nuclear.

1.5 Scope of the study

The techniques for accurate Q value measurement in radioactive isotope alpha decay. The study

is expanded to include intricate decay chains with the goal of estimating cumulative Q value that

is here limited to the decay of alpha particles in light, medium and heavy nuclei.

Literature Review

The decay of alpha particle has been a source of debates for physicists for some time. According

to classical theory, appositively charged alpha particle encounters a repulsive coulomb potential

near the nucleus of an atom. In addition, classical physics does not explain the wide range of the

half-lives of decaying particle through alpha emission, which extends from nano seconds to

billions of years. On the other hand, quantum mechanics offers an alternative description; a

particle partially bound within a finite potential well has a certain probability of being

transmitted through the potential barrier (Hyde, 2019).

Radioactivity

Decay of radioactive isotope is defined as natural disintegration of a radionuclide associated with

the emission for ionizing radiation in the form of alpha particle, beta particle and gamma

radiation. Radioactivity can occur both naturally and through human invention. If the

composition of the nucleus deviates from the optimal range of the N: Z ratio, that is, if the

nucleus has too few or many neutrons for a certain proton number (eq., in oxygen isotopes

(14O,15 O,19 O,20 O), the nucleus becomes radioactive, that is, it decays spontaneously most

frequently to anther nuclei. Symbolically the process can be described as

'
A
Z Y → AZ X + particle(α , β , γ )
' 2.1

Where

Y=parent nucleus

A=mass of parent nucleus

Z= charge of parent nucleus

X= daughter nucleus

A’= mass of daughter nucleus

Z’ =charge of daughter nucleus

Alpha Decay

Alpha decay is a process, where a radioactive nucleus emits an alpha particle. This alpha particle

is a 4He nucleus, consisting of two protons and two neutrons. A radioactive substance becomes

more stable by alpha decay. The study of alpha decay is still one of the most reliable methods to

probe on the nuclear structure by giving information on the ground state energy, ground state

half-life, the nuclear spin and parity, the nuclear deformation, etc. The unknown parent nuclei
can be determined by studying the alpha decay chain (John, 2008). The process of alpha decay is

a nuclear reaction that can be written as:

A A−4 4
Z Y → Z−2 X + 2 He 2.2

Where

X = parent nucleus

Y = daughter nucleus and 42

He = helium nucleus which is alpha particle.

Energy of Alpha Decay

Radioactive decay is a spontaneous process, caused by a system moving to lower energy state. "

value is positive for alpha decay. " value exceeds alpha decay energy. From semi empirical mass

formula, emission of an a-particle lowers Coulomb energy of nucleus and increases stability of

heavy nuclei while not affecting overall binding energy per nucleon .We know that when this

quantity becomes negative the alpha particle will no longer be a bound particle and will be

emitted spontaneously from the initial nucleus AZ X in driving some of the more important

quantities on alpha decay, we can write up the "-value equation for a decay parent nucleus

(Martin, 2006). The spontaneous emission of alpha particle is given by

A A−4
Z Y → Z−2 X +α 2.3

From the law of conservation of energy we have that

2 2 2
M X c =M Y c + M α c +η Y +η α 2.4

Where

M X = mass of the parent nucleus

M Y = mass of daughter nucleus

M α = mass of alpha particle

ηY = kinetic energy of daughter nucleus

η α = kinetic energy alpha particle

Equation (2.4) can be rewritten as

( M X −M Y −M α ) c2=ηY + ηα 2.5

The energy of the alpha particle is also equal to the total kinetic energy given to the

decay fragments.

ε =ηY +ηα 2.6

The initial nucleus X is at rest, then its linear momentum is zero. The daughter nucleus Y and the

alpha particle moves with equal and opposite momenta.

PY =Pα 2.7

The kinetic energy of the alpha particle in terms of the value is

ε
ηα=
Mα 2.8
1+
MY

Because the mass ratio is small compared with 1 (recall that Y represents a heavy nucleus), it is

4
usually sufficiently accurate to express this ratio simply as , which gives, with B >> 4,
A−4

( B4 )
η α =ε 1− 2.9

Where, B is the atomic mass of the parent nucleus.

Materials and Methods

Materials

The materials used are Alpha particles, radioactive decay, half-life and decay constant
Method

Let us consider a radioactive series in which an element I is decaying into element II, II is

decaying into III etc. Let at some instant of time t, the number of nuclei of I, II, III etc. be

N 1 , N 2 , N 3 etc. The rates at which they are decaying are λ 1 N 1 , λ2 N 2 , λ3 N 3 etc., where λ 1 , λ2 , λ3

etc. are the decay constants. The exponential decay of the parent atom is given by

dN1
=− λ1 N 1 3.1
dt

Similarly

dN2
=− λ2 N 2 3.2
dt

But the rate of formation of daughter atoms is the same as that of the parent atoms i.e λ 1 N 1

dN2
=λ 1 N 1 −λ2 N 2 3.3
dt

which gives the rate of net increase of the daughter atoms at the moment (Emeka, 2007).

Equation 3.1 is given by

− λ1 t
N 1=(N 1) o e 3.4

Where (N 1 )ois the number of nuclei of I parent at t=0

Substituting equation (3.4) into (3.3) we get

dN2
=λ 1 [ ( N 1 )o e ]−λ 2 N 2
−λ t
1
3.5
dt
Or

dN2 −λ t
+ λ 2 N 2=λ 1 (N 1)o e 1
3.6
dt

Multiplying on both sides by e− λ t , we have 2

d N 2 −λ t −λ t −λ t −λ t
×e + λ 2 N 2 e =λ1 (N 1 )o e . e
2 2 2 2
3.7
dt

Or

d −λ t ( λ − λ )t
λ N e =λ 1(N 1)o e 2 2 1
3.8
dt 2 2

Integrating equation (3.8) we get

−λ 2 t λ 1( N 1)o (λ −λ )t
N2 e = e 2
+A
1
3.9
( λ2−λ 1)

Where A is a constant of integration. At t=0 only I element is present i.e, N 2=0 hence

λ1 (N 1) o
0= +A 3.10
(λ2 −λ1 )

Or

− λ1 (N 1) o
A= 3.11
(λ2 −λ1 )

−λ 2 t λ 1( N 1)o (λ −λ )t λ 1(N 1)o

N2 e = e 2
− 1
3.12
( λ2−λ 1) ( λ2 − λ 1 )

Or
 λ 1( N 1)o (λ −λ )t
N2 e
−λ 2 t
= [e 2
−1 ] 1
3.13
( λ2−λ 1)

Or

λ 1(N 1)o −λ t − λ t
N 2= [ e −e ] 1 2
3.14
( λ2−λ 1)

In a similar way, the number N 2 , N 1 etc. can be determined (Gupta et al., 1989). Now consider

the situation in which the first member of the series has an extremely long half-life compared

with other members of the series i.e. T 1=∞ , N 1=(N 1) oconstant.

Hence

λ 1 ( N 1 )o −λ 2 t
N 2= (1−e ) 3.15
( λ 2−λ1 )

Or

λ1 −λ t
N2 ≈ ( N ) (1−e )
λ2 1 o
2
3.16

After a long time, we have e− λ t <1 , i.e 2

λ1 λ1
N2 ≈
λ2
( N 1 )o ≈ N 2 = constant
λ2
3.17

N 2 λ1
= 3.18
N 1 λ2

Or

N 1 λ1=N 2 λ2 3.19
This situation is known as secular equilibrium. This occurs when element I is very long lived. If

element I is not very long but it is still greater than element II, i.e λ 1< λ2, we have

λ1 ( N 1 )o
N 1= [ e−λ t−e−λ t ]
1 2
3.20
( λ 2−λ1 )

Or

λ 1 ( N 1 )o −λ 1 t
N 2= e ∵ e− λ t < e−λ t
1 2
3.21
( λ 2−λ1 )

Expected outcome

The accurate and efficient theoretical formulae for alpha decay half-life are among the research’s

anticipated results. The establish Q- value and consider the effects that they may have on the

stability of isotopes. The theoretical formulae are based on the factor such as precision,

unpredictability, minimum number of coefficients and reduced ineffectiveness regarding the

uncertainties noted in the Q- values.

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