Yield ratio for the two 241Pu fission isomers in the 242(γ, n) reaction

The half-lives and yield ratios for the two ²⁴¹Pu fission isomers have been measured in the ²⁴²Pu(γ, n) reaction. The observed half-life for the long-lived isomer $\text{(T}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{= 20.5 ± 2.2 μs)}$ is in agreement with previous data, and the existence of a short-lived 34 ± 7 ns isomer in ²⁴¹Pu could be confirmed. The measured yield ratios are Y_iso/Y_pr = (9.2 ± 0.8) × 10^?5 and Y_iso/Y_pr = (3.7 ± 0.7) × 10^?5, respectively. From a statistical model analysis of the isomeric fission yield ratio, Y^long_iso/Y^short_iso = 2.5 ± 0.6, a spin assignment for the two isomers is attempted. Possible spin combinations are compared with single-particle shell-model calculations and with available spectroscopic data for the other even-odd Pu isotopes.