Abstract
The isotope 176Lu (2.6% of natural lutetium) decays by β− to 176Hf, with a long half life. We present here the first Lu–Hf isochron. The eucrite meteorites, a suite of planetary igneous rocks of known age, 4,550 Myr, define a 10-point total-rock isochron with a slope of 0.0934 ± 40, leading to a value of 3.53 ± 0.14 ×1010yr for the β−-decay half life of 176Lu. The isochron intercept of 0.27973 ± 12 gives the initial 176Hf/177Hf for the inner Solar System at the time of accretion.
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Patchett, P., Tatsumoto, M. Lu–Hf total-rock isochron for the eucrite meteorites. Nature 288, 571–574 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/288571a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/288571a0
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