Isotopes of manganese
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Naturally occurring manganese (25Mn) is composed of one stable isotope, 55Mn. Twenty-seven radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 53Mn with a half-life of 3.7 million years, 54Mn with a half-life of 312.08 days, and 52Mn with a half-life of 5.591 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 3 hours and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than a minute. This element also has seven meta states.
Manganese is part of the iron group of elements, which are thought to be synthesized in massive stars shortly before supernova explosions. Because of its relatively short half-life, 53Mn occurs on Earth only in tiny amounts due to the action of cosmic rays on iron in rocks.
As 53Mn decays to 53Cr, manganese isotopic analysis is typically combined with that of chromium and this has found application in isotope geology and radiometric dating. Mn−Cr isotopic ratios reinforce the evidence from 26Al and 107Pd for the early history of the Solar System. Variations in 53Cr/52Cr and Mn/Cr ratios from several meteorites indicate a non-zero initial 53Mn/55Mn ratio that implies Cr isotopic variations must result from in-situ decay of 53Mn in differentiated planetary bodies. Hence 53Mn provides additional evidence for nucleosynthetic processes shortly before coalescence of the Solar System.
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