Tb132

Tb-132 refers to an isotope of the element terbium, which has the atomic number 65. It is a radioactive, non-stable form of terbium with a mass number of 132 and is not found in nature under ordinary conditions. Tb-132 has been produced in laboratory experiments through high-energy nuclear reactions and is primarily of interest for basic research in nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics rather than for practical applications.

In laboratory settings, Tb-132 is generated by reactions that create proton-rich nuclides, often involving fusion-evaporation or projectile fragmentation processes. Once formed, the isotope is typically very short-lived, and its production is followed by rapid separation and detection of its decay products. The exact half-life of Tb-132 is difficult to measure and can vary with production method and the specific excited-state population; in general, such light, proton-rich terbium isotopes exhibit lifetimes on the order of milliseconds to seconds. Its decay is expected to proceed primarily via beta-plus decay (positron emission) or electron capture, transforming the nucleus to a neighboring element such as gadolinium and emitting characteristic gamma rays from the daughter or intermediate states.

Tb-132 is mainly studied to improve understanding of nuclear structure far from stability, test theoretical models of beta decay near the proton drip line, and help map decay schemes of neighboring isotopes. As with many short-lived isotopes, detailed experimental data are limited and continually refined by new measurements in accelerator facilities.