Doppler-shift attenuation lifetime measurement of the Ar3621+ level

Abstract

At TRIUMF, the TIGRESS Integrated Plunger device and its suite of ancillary detector systems have been implemented for charged-particle tagging and light-ion identification in coincidence with γ-ray spectroscopy for Doppler-shift lifetime studies and low-energy Coulomb excitation measurements. As a test of the device, the lifetime of the first 2+ excited state in Ar36 was measured from the γ-ray line shape of the 21+→0g.s.+ transition using the Doppler-shift attenuation technique following Coulomb excitation. The line-shape signatures, vital for precision lifetime measurements, were significantly improved by enhanced reaction-channel selectivity using a complementary approach of kinematic gating and digital rise-time discrimination of recoiling charged particles in a silicon PIN diode array. The lifetime was determined by comparisons between the data and simulated line shapes generated using our TIGRESS Coulomb excitation code as an input to the Lindhard method, which was then extended and included as a class in geant4. The model-independent lifetime result of 490±50 fs corresponds to a reduced quadrupole transition strength of B(E2;21+→0g.s.+)=56±6e2fm4 and agrees well with previous intermediate energy Coulomb excitation measurements, thereby resolving reported discrepancies in the 21+ level lifetime in this self-conjugate nucleus.5 MoreReceived 13 April 2017Revised 28 June 2017DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.96.024305©2017 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasElectromagnetic transitionsLifetimes & widthsNuclear structure & decaysProperties20 ≤ A ≤ 38TechniquesRadiation detectorsShell modelNuclear Physics