Identification of the new isotope 224Np

The new isotope ²²⁴Np was produced in the fusion-evaporation reaction of ⁴⁰Ar+¹⁸⁷Re and identified through the evaporation residue (ER)-α -decay correlation measurements using the digital pulse processing technique. Two α -decay branches with α energies of 9137(20) and 8868(62) keV were assigned to ²²⁴Np, decaying to two excited states in ²²⁰Pa. The half-life of ²²⁴Np was deduced to be 38_-11⁺²⁶μ s .