144Sm

Samarium-144 (144Sm) is a nuclide of the element samarium (atomic number 62) with a mass number of 144. It is one of the naturally occurring isotopes of samarium.

144Sm is considered a stable isotope. Among samarium’s naturally occurring isotopes, 144Sm accounts for a small but nonzero fraction of natural samarium, with a natural abundance on the order of a few percent. The nucleus is even-even (Z = 62, N = 82) and has spin-parity 0+, which is typical for ground states of many even-even nuclei.

In nature, samarium appears in minerals such as monazite and bastnäsite, where its isotopic composition reflects crustal sources. 144Sm is produced in stellar environments through nucleosynthetic processes, primarily by slow neutron capture (the s-process) in asymptotic giant branch stars, contributing to the overall cosmic inventory of samarium isotopes.

Because 144Sm is stable, it does not undergo radioactive decay under ordinary conditions. Its stability makes it useful as a reference or calibration isotope in isotopic measurements and mass spectrometry. In geochemical and cosmochemical studies, stable isotopes like 144Sm help researchers quantify fractionation effects and trace elemental pathways, though it has no major single industrial application comparable to some other samarium isotopes.

See also: Samarium, Isotopes of samarium, 147Sm-143Nd dating.