isotopes20Ne

Neon-20, denoted 20Ne, is the most abundant stable isotope of the element neon. It has 10 protons and 10 neutrons (mass number A = 20) and a ground-state spin of 0+. In natural neon, 20Ne accounts for about 90.48% of the element, with 21Ne at about 0.27% and 22Ne at about 9.25%.

Formation and occurrence: 20Ne is produced in stars during helium burning, primarily through the fusion of 16O with an alpha particle to form 20Ne and a gamma ray (16O + 4He → 20Ne + γ). This process makes 20Ne a major stable isotope released by dying stars. On Earth, neon gas contains trace amounts of 21Ne and 22Ne, produced by cosmic ray spallation and nucleosynthesis in the galaxy.

Nuclear properties: As a stable, even-even nucleus with equal numbers of protons and neutrons, 20Ne has a relatively simple ground state with spin and parity 0+. The nucleus is noted for its relatively high binding and, in nuclear structure studies, for exhibiting cluster-like behavior, often described in models that treat it as an alpha particle coupled to a 16O core in certain excited states.

Significance and applications: The dominance of 20Ne in natural neon makes the isotope central to discussions of neon isotopic composition in geochemical and cosmochemical studies, including methods that trace atmospheric and solar wind histories. Isotopic ratios involving 20Ne, 21Ne, and 22Ne are used to test models of stellar nucleosynthesis and to calibrate mass spectrometric measurements in various scientific fields.