Gunther Korschinek

Bio: Gunther Korschinek is an academic researcher from Technische Universität München. The author has contributed to research in topics: Accelerator mass spectrometry & Neutron. The author has an hindex of 32, co-authored 192 publications receiving 4933 citations. Previous affiliations of Gunther Korschinek include Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

A new value for the half-life of 10Be by Heavy-Ion Elastic Recoil Detection and liquid scintillation counting

Abstract: The importance of 10 Be in different applications of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is well-known. In this context the half-life of 10 Be has a crucial impact, and an accurate and precise determination of the half-life is a prerequisite for many of the applications of 10 Be in cosmic-ray and earth science research. Recently, the value of the 10 Be half-life has been the centre of much debate. In order to overcome uncertainties inherent in previous determinations, we introduced a new method of high accuracy and precision. An aliquot of our highly enriched 10 Be master solution was serially diluted with increasing well-known masses of 9 Be. We then determined the initial 10 Be concentration by least square fit to the series of measurements of the resultant 10 Be/ 9 Be ratio. In order to minimize uncertainties because of mass bias which plague other low-energy mass spectrometric methods, we used for the first time Heavy-Ion Elastic Recoil Detection (HI-ERD) for the determination of the 10 Be/ 9 Be isotopic ratios, a technique which does not suffer from difficult to control mass fractionation. The specific activity of the master solution was measured by means of accurate liquid scintillation counting (LSC). The resultant combination of the 10 Be concentration and activity yields a 10 Be half-life of T 1/2 = 1.388 ± 0.018 (1 s, 1.30%) Ma. In a parallel but independent study (Chmeleff et al. [11] ), found a value of 1.386 ± 0.016 (1.15%) Ma. Our recommended weighted mean and mean standard error for the new value for 10 Be half-life based on these two independent measurements is 1.387 ± 0.012 (0.87%) Ma.

Direct measurement of the 7Be solar neutrino flux with 192 days of Borexino data

Abstract: We report the direct measurement of the 7Be solar neutrino signal rate performed with the Borexino detector at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. The interaction rate of the 0.862 MeV 7Be neutrinos is 49+/-3stat+/-4syst counts/(day.100 ton). The hypothesis of no oscillation for 7Be solar neutrinos is inconsistent with our measurement at the 4sigma C.L. Our result is the first direct measurement of the survival probability for solar nu(e) in the transition region between matter-enhanced and vacuum-driven oscillations. The measurement improves the experimental determination of the flux of 7Be, pp, and CNO solar nu(e), and the limit on the effective neutrino magnetic moment using solar neutrinos.

60Fe anomaly in a deep-sea manganese crust and implications for a nearby supernova source.

Abstract: A nearby supernova (SN) explosion in the past can be confirmed by the detection of radioisotopes on Earth that were produced and ejected by the SN. We have now measured a well resolved time profile of the 60Fe concentration in a deep-sea ferromanganese crust and found a highly significant increase 2.8 Myr ago. The amount of 60Fe is compatible with the deposition of ejecta from a SN at a distance of a few 10 pc. The well defined time of the SN explosion makes it possible to search for plausible correlations with other events in Earth's history.

New Measurement of the Fe 60 Half-Life

Abstract: We have made a new determination of the half-life of the radioactive isotope $^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ using high precision measurements of the number of $^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ atoms and their activity in a sample containing over ${10}^{15}$ $^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ atoms. Our new value for the half-life of $^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ is $(2.62\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.04)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{yr}$, significantly above the previously reported value of $(1.49\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.27)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{yr}$. Our new measurement for the lifetime of $^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ has significant implications for interpretations of galactic nucleosynthesis, for determinations of formation time scales of solids in the early Solar System, and for the interpretation of live $^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ measurements from supernova-ejecta deposits on Earth.

Air pressure and cosmogenic isotope production

Abstract: The cosmic ray flux increases at higher altitude as air pressure and the shielding effect of the atmosphere decrease. Altitude-dependent scaling factors are required to compensate for this effect in calculating cosmic ray exposure ages. Scaling factors in current use assume a uniform relationship between altitude and atmospheric pressure over the Earth's surface. This masks regional differences in mean annual pressure and spatial variation in cosmogenic isotope production rates. Outside Antarctica, air pressures over land depart from the standard atmosphere by ±4.4 hPa (1σ) near sea level, corresponding to offsets of ±3–4% in isotope production rates. Greater offsets occur in regions of persistent high and low pressure such as Siberia and Iceland, where conventional scaling factors predict production rates in error by ±10%. The largest deviations occur over Antarctica where ground level pressures are 20–40 hPa lower than the standard atmosphere at all altitudes. Isotope production rates in Antarctica are therefore 25–30% higher than values calculated by scaling Northern Hemisphere production rates with conventional scaling factors. Exposure ages of old Antarctic surfaces, especially those based on cosmogenic radionuclides at levels close to saturation, may be millions of years younger than published estimates.

First Results from KamLAND: Evidence for Reactor Anti-Neutrino Disappearance

Abstract: KamLAND has measured the flux of nu;(e)'s from distant nuclear reactors. We find fewer nu;(e) events than expected from standard assumptions about nu;(e) propagation at the 99.95% C.L. In a 162 ton.yr exposure the ratio of the observed inverse beta-decay events to the expected number without nu;(e) disappearance is 0.611+/-0.085(stat)+/-0.041(syst) for nu;(e) energies >3.4 MeV. In the context of two-flavor neutrino oscillations with CPT invariance, all solutions to the solar neutrino problem except for the "large mixing angle" region are excluded.