Decay Chain - Types

Types

The four most common modes of radioactive decay are: alpha decay, beta decay, inverse beta decay (considered as both positron emission and electron capture), and isomeric transition. Of these decay processes, only alpha decay changes the atomic mass number (A) of the nucleus, and always decreases it by four. Because of this, almost any decay will result in a nucleus whose atomic mass number has the same residue mod 4, dividing all nuclides into four classes. The members of any possible decay chain must be drawn entirely from one of these classes. All four chains also produce helium-4 (alpha particles are helium-4 nuclei).

Three main decay chains (or families) are observed in nature, commonly called the thorium series, the radium series, and the actinium series, representing three of these four classes, and ending in three different, stable isotopes of lead. The mass number of every isotope in these chains can be represented as A = 4n, A = 4n + 2, and A = 4n + 3, respectively. The long-lived starting isotopes of these three isotopes, respectively thorium-232, uranium-238, and uranium-235, have existed since the formation of the earth. The plutonium isotopes plutonium-244 and plutonium-239 have also been found in trace amounts on earth.

Due to the quite short half-life of its starting isotope neptunium-237 (2.14 million years), the fourth chain, the neptunium series with A = 4n + 1, is already extinct in nature, except for the final rate-limiting step, decay of bismuth-209. The ending isotope of this chain is now known to be thallium-205. Some older sources give the final isotope as bismuth-209, but it was recently discovered that it is radioactive, with a half-life of 1.9×1019 years.

There are also many shorter chains, for example that of carbon-14. On Earth, most of the starting isotopes of these chains are generated by cosmic radiation.