Lifetime of the21+state in10C

Abstract

The lifetime of the ${J}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}={2}_{1}^{+}$ state in ${}^{10}$C was measured using the Doppler shift attenuation method following the inverse kinematics $p{{(}^{10}\text{B},n)}^{10}$C reaction at 95 MeV. The ${2}_{1}^{+}$ state, at 3354 keV, has $\ensuremath{\tau}=219\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{(7)}_{\text{stat}}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{(10)}_{\text{sys}}$ fs, corresponding to a $B(E2)\ensuremath{\downarrow}$ of 8.8(3) ${e}^{2}$ fm${}^{4}$. This measurement, combined with that recently determined for ${}^{10}$Be [9.2(3) ${e}^{2}$ fm${}^{4}$], provides a unique challenge to ab initio calculations, testing the structure of these states, including the isospin symmetry of the wave functions. Quantum Monte Carlo calculations using realistic two- and three-nucleon Hamiltonians that reproduce the ${}^{10}$Be $B(E2)$ value generally predict a larger ${}^{10}$C $B(E2)$ probability but with considerable sensitivity to the admixture of different spatial symmetry components in the wave functions and to the three-nucleon potential used.