The ^(54)Mn Clock and Its Implications for Cosmic Ray Propagation and Fe Isotope Studies

Grove, J. E.
Hayes, B. T.
Mewaldt, R. A.
Webber, W. R.

Publication date

August 1991

Publisher

American Astronomical Society

Abstract

Radioactive ^(54)Mn suggested as a 'clock' for measuring the lifetime of heavy cosmic rays, has a poorly known β-decay half-life estimated to be in the range from ~10^5 to 10 ^7 yr. Some years ago Koch et al. concluded from measurements of the Mn/Fe ratio that a significant fraction of low-energy (<1 GeV/nucleon) ^(54)Mn produced by Fe fragmentation had decayed. Using a propagation code that includes improved fragmentation cross-sections, and recent data from HEAO 3 and a number of other spacecraft, we have reexamined the evidence for ^(54)Mn decay in cosmic rays. We conclude that present cosmic-ray data cannot establish the degree of ^(54)Mn decay, but point out that this question has important implications for studies of the ^(54)Fe abund...