Half-life of Ge 71 and the gallium anomaly

摘要: Recent discussions about the origin of the so-called gallium anomaly have motivated a remeasurement of the half-life of . We have conducted three separate measurements using dedicated planar Ge detectors—one with as a standard, one with as a standard, and one standalone measurement. Our results yield a half-life of days, which is consistent with, but significantly more precise than, the currently accepted value. With this experiment, the potential explanation of the gallium anomaly being due to an unexpectedly long half-life has been ruled out, leaving the anomaly's origin as an open question.