Measurement of the 171Tm half-life

The half-life of Tm-171 was measured by gamma-ray spectrometry, using the reference source method. The measured point-like source was prepared by homogenous mixing of Ti-44 with Tm-171 in order to obtain an identical detection geometry for both nuclides. The half-life of Tm-171 was determined by following the count-rate ratio between the gamma-ray emissions at 66.73 keV (Tm-171) and 67.9/78.3 keV (Ti-44). The measurement campaign consisted of 280 measurements acquired over a period of 449 days, corresponding to about 60% of the half-life value. The result for the Tm-171 half-life, 702.4 (70) d, is consistent with the currently recommended value, however the uncertainty assessment of the latter is poorly documented.

Automated summary

The half-life of Tm-171 was measured using gamma-ray spectrometry. The result was consistent with the currently recommended value, but the uncertainty assessment of the latter is poorly documented.