Conversion-electron study of 0+ excitations in 208Pb

Abstract

The 208Pb(p,p′e−) reaction has been studied at a proton energy of 17.3 MeV. Singles data show E0 transitions from the 0+2 and 0+3 states at 4868 and 5241 keV, respectively, to the ground state. Proton–electron gated spectra indicate that few electrons from the 0+2 state are in coincidence with backscattered protons, while those from the 0+3 state are somewhat more abundant. From the singles spectra, an upper limit for the E3(0+3 → 3−1)/E0(0+3 → 0+1) branching ratio of less than four has been measured. This observation is in agreement with previous predictions for a two-phonon octupole excitation.