Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen

TT 18: Superconductivity: Poster

TT 18.60: Poster

Monday, March 18, 2024, 15:00–18:00, Poster C

Metallic Magnetic Calorimeter for the Search of Alpha Decay in Os-184 — •Nathalie Probst¹, Andreas Reifenberger¹, Fedor Danevych², Andreas Fleischmann¹, and Christian Enss¹ — ¹KIP, Heidelberg University, Germany — ²Institute for Nuclear Research of NASU

Excesses of the daughter nuclide W-180 found in meteorites and terrestrial rocks claim an alpha decay for Os-184 with the half-life τ_1/2=(1.1±0.2)· 10¹³ yr which is in contradiction with the theoretical prediction τ_1/2=(2.1−7.5)· 10¹³ yr. While the half-life τ_1/2=(2.0±1.1)· 10¹⁵ yr of Os-186 was directly measured in laboratory experiments, for Os-184 only a lower limit τ_1/2>2.0· 10¹³ yr was determined.

In this work we aim to directly measure the half-life of Os-184 for the first time and in addition reach a substantially higher precision for the value of the half-life of Os-186. Therefore, bulk superconducting osmium is used as a particle absorber for a metallic magnetic calorimeter (MMC). Compared to germanium detectors which are commonly used for particle detection, this detector stands out with a small detector volume which reduces the background of myonic and cosmic radiation to a minimum.

With the energy resolution being in the keV-range, we will answer the question whether the alpha decay in Os-184 exists. We discuss first results including the characterization with external sources.

Keywords: osmium; alpha decay; detector