Sulfur-43

Properties and data of the isotope ⁴³S.

Contents

Sulfur-43 is a radioisotope of the chemical element sulfur, which has 27 neutrons in its atomic nucleus in addition to the element-specific 16 protons; the sum of the number of these atomic nucleus building blocks results in a mass number of 43. The short-lived, only artificially produced, unstable and thus radioactive nuclide has no practical significance; the study of ⁴³S is exclusively for academic purposes.

According to a report from 1979, the neutron-rich isotope sulfur-43 was discovered during the fragmentation of calcium-48 ions - accelerated to 212 MeV per nucleon - on a Be target [1].

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

General data

Name of the isotope:Sulfur-43; S-43Symbol:⁴³S or 4316SMass number A:43 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:16 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:27Nucleon pairing (Z - N):even - oddNuclear ratio (N/Z ratio):1.6875 (= neutron-proton ratio)Neutron excess (N-Z):11Isotopic mass:42.986908(5) u (atomic weight of Sulfur-43)Nuclide mass:42.9781308 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:-12.19512 MeVMass defect:0.372245244 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:346.74421131 MeV (per nucleus)
8.06381887 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 2.629(6) MeV (first neutron)
S_P = 20.576(95) MeV (first proton)Half-life:265(13) msDecay constant λ:2.6156497379621 s^-1Specific activity α:3.750431229110 × 10⁺²² Bq g^-1
1013630061921.8 Ci g^-1Spin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)(3/2-)Year of discovery:1979

Radioactive Decay

Half-life T_½ = 265(13) ms respectively 2.65 × 10^-1 seconds s.

Decay mode	Daughter	Probability	Decay energy	γ energy (intensity)
β^-	⁴³Cl	60(10) %	11.96(6) MeV
β^-, n	⁴²Cl	40(10) %	4.565(60) MeV

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
^43mS	320.7(5) keV	415(5) ns	(7/2-)

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 27) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 43) with Sulfur-43. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

Z	Isotone N = 27	Isobar A = 43
11	³⁸Na
12	³⁹Mg
13	⁴⁰Al	⁴³Al
14	⁴¹Si	⁴³Si
15	⁴²P	⁴³P
16	⁴³S	⁴³S
17	⁴⁴Cl	⁴³Cl
18	⁴⁵Ar	⁴³Ar
19	⁴⁶K	⁴³K
20	⁴⁷Ca	⁴³Ca
21	⁴⁸Sc	⁴³Sc
22	⁴⁹Ti	⁴³Ti
23	⁵⁰V	⁴³V
24	⁵¹Cr	⁴³Cr
25	⁵²Mn	⁴³Mn
26	⁵³Fe
27	⁵⁴Co
28	⁵⁵Ni
29	⁵⁶Cu
30	⁵⁷Zn
31	⁵⁸Ga
32	⁵⁹Ge

External data and identifiers

Adopted Levels, Gammas:NuDat 43S

Literature and References

[1] - G. D. Westfall, T. J. M. Symons, D. E. Greiner et al.:
Production of Neutron-Rich Nuclides by Fragmentation of 212-MeV/amu ⁴⁸Ca.
In: Physical Review Letters,43, 1859, (1979), DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.43.1859.