Silicon-34

Properties and data of the isotope ³⁴Si.

Contents

General Data

Radioactive Decay

Parent Nuclides

Isotones und Isobares

Literature

Silicon-34 is a radioisotope of the chemical element silicon, which has 20 neutrons in its atomic nucleus in addition to the element-specific 14 protons; the sum of the number of these atomic nucleus building blocks results in a mass number of 34. The very short-lived, only artificially produced, unstable and thus radioactive nuclide has no practical significance; the study of ³⁴Si is exclusively for academic purposes and experimental research.

The radioactive nuclide was first described in 1971; according to this, silicon-34 was formed as a fission product when a thorium-232 template was irradiated with argon-40 ions of an energy of 290 MeV [1].

See also: List of individual Silicon isotopes (and general data sources).

General data

Name of the isotope:Silicon-34; Si-34Symbol:³⁴Si or 3414SiMass number A:34 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:14 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:20Nucleon pairing (Z - N):even - evenNuclear ratio (N/Z ratio):1.4285714285714 (= neutron-proton ratio)Neutron excess (N-Z):6Isotopic mass:33.9785380(9) u (atomic weight of Silicon-34)Nuclide mass:33.970858 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:-19.99172 MeVMass defect:0.304310768 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:283.46365453 MeV (per nucleus)
8.33716631 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 7.5487(11) MeV (first neutron)
S_P = 18.783(7) MeV (first proton)Half-life:2.77(20) sDecay constant λ:0.25023363919132 s^-1Specific activity α:4.566491585165 × 10⁺²¹ Bq g^-1
123418691490.96 Ci g^-1Spin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)0+Mirror nucleus:Calcium-34Year of discovery:1971

Radioactive Decay

Half-life T_½ = 2.77(20) s.

Decay mode	Daughter	Probability	Decay energy	γ energy (intensity)
β^-	³⁴P	100 %	4.5570(11) MeV

Parent Nuclides

Direct parent isotopes are: ³⁴Al, ³⁵Al, ²⁴²Cm.

Nuclear Isomers

Nuclear isomers or excited states with the activation energy in keV related to the ground state.

Nuclear Isomer	Excitation Energy	Half-life	Spin
^34mSi	4256.1(4) keV	< 210 ns	(3-)

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 20) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 34) with Silicon-34. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

Z	Isotone N = 20	Isobar A = 34
8	²⁸O
9	²⁹F
10	³⁰Ne	³⁴Ne
11	³¹Na	³⁴Na
12	³²Mg	³⁴Mg
13	³³Al	³⁴Al
14	³⁴Si	³⁴Si
15	³⁵P	³⁴P
16	³⁶S	³⁴S
17	³⁷Cl	³⁴Cl
18	³⁸Ar	³⁴Ar
19	³⁹K	³⁴K
20	⁴⁰Ca	³⁴Ca
21	⁴¹Sc
22	⁴²Ti
23	⁴³V
24	⁴⁴Cr
25	⁴⁵Mn
26	⁴⁶Fe
27	⁴⁷Co
28	⁴⁸Ni

External data and identifiers

Adopted Levels, Gammas:NuDat 34Si

Literature and References

[1] - A.G. Artukh et al.:
New isotopes ^29,30Mg, ^31,32,33Al, ^33,34,35,36Si, ^35,36,37,38P, ^39,40S and ^41,42Cl produced in bombardment of a ²³²Th target with 290 MeV ⁴⁰Ar ions.
In: Nuclear Physics A, 176, 2, (1971), DOI 10.1016/0375-9474(71)90270-3.

[2] - G. Mouze, R. A. Ricci:
On the ³⁴Si emission of ²⁴²Cm.
In: The European Physical Journal A, 9, (2000), DOI 10.1007/s100500070021.

[3] - A. Mutschler et al.:
A proton density bubble in the doubly magic ³⁴Si nucleus.
In: Nature Physics, 13, (2017), DOI 10.1038/nphys3916.

[4] - R. Lică et al.:
Normal and intruder configurations in ³⁴Si populated in the β^- decay of ³⁴Mg and ³⁴Al.
In: Physical Review C, 100, 034306, (2019), DOI 10.1103/PhysRevC.100.034306.

[5] - R. S. Lubna et al.:
Cross-shell excited configurations in the structure of ³⁴Si.
In: Physical Review C, 109, 014309, (2024), DOI 10.1103/PhysRevC.109.014309.