Sb73

Sb73 is the isotopic designation for an antimony nucleus with a mass number of 73. In contemporary nuclear data, Sb-73 is not a stable or naturally occurring isotope and has not been observed experimentally. It lies far from the valley of stability on the proton-rich side and would be extremely short-lived if produced in a laboratory setting.

With Z = 51 and N = 22, Sb-73 is a highly neutron-deficient nuclide. Theoretical models place it near the proton drip line, and no experimental half-life has been measured. If it exists, its half-life would be very short, typically fractions of a second or less, and its decay would likely proceed through beta-plus decay to Sn-73 or, alternatively, direct proton emission to Sn-72, possibly complemented by electron capture in some channels.

Production of Sb-73 would require high-energy nuclear reactions in specialized facilities, such as projectile fragmentation or fusion-evaporation experiments with heavy-ion beams. Expected production rates would be extremely low, and researchers would use mass separation and charged-particle detectors to identify such a nucleus if observed. The lack of observation to date means there is limited experimental constraint on its properties.

In relation to other isotopes, antimony has two stable isotopes, Sb-121 and Sb-123. Sb-73, if it were to exist, would be among the lightest and most proton-rich antimony isotopes discussed in speculative models, typically in the context of nuclear structure and drip-line research rather than practical applications. Further information about isotopes of antimony and general nuclear stability can be found in standard references on nuclear physics.