The \(^{146}\text{Sm}\) half-life re-measured: consolidating the chronometer for events in the early Solar System

The half-life of the extinct radiolanthanide \(^{146}\text{Sm}\) $_{}^{146}\text{Sm}$ , important for both geochronological and astrophysical applications, was re-determined by a combination of mass spectrometry and \(\alpha\) $\alpha$ -decay counting. Earlier studies provided only limited information on all potential factors that could influence the quantification of the half-life of \(^{146}\text{Sm}\) $_{}^{146}\text{Sm}$ . Thus, special attention was given  here to a complete documentation of all experimental steps to provide information about any possible artifacts in the data analysis. The half-life of \(^{146}\text{Sm}\) $_{}^{146}\text{Sm}$ was derived to be 92.0 Ma ± 2.6 Ma, with an uncertainty coverage factor of \(\mathsf{\textit{k}\!=\!1}\) $\mathit{k}=\mathsf{1}$ .