Pu244

Pu-244 is an isotope of plutonium with mass number 244 and atomic number 94. It has a half-life of about 80 million years and decays primarily by alpha emission to uranium-240. Alpha decay is the dominant decay mode, with very small probabilities of other channels such as spontaneous fission.

Pu-244 is not naturally abundant on Earth today. It can be produced artificially in nuclear reactors or accelerators, typically as a byproduct of producing heavier plutonium isotopes. In astrophysical environments, it is believed to be created by rapid neutron capture (the r-process) and to have been present in the early solar system. Evidence from primitive meteorites indicates a live Pu-244 inventory when the solar system formed, though the isotope has largely decayed away in Solar System materials since then.

In radiochemical and cosmochemical research, Pu-244 is valued as a chronometer for studying the early solar system and for constraining models of nucleosynthesis and isotopic evolution. Its long half-life and distinct decay product signatures provide insights into the inventory of short-lived radionuclides at solar system formation and into the astrophysical sites of the r-process. Pu-244 remains a highly radioactive and toxic material, requiring specialized handling and containment.