Observation of hyperfine mixing in measurements of a magnetic octupole decay in isotopically pure nickel-like 129Xe and 132Xe ions

Journal Article · Thu Dec 21 00:00:00 EST 2006 · Physical Review Letters

OSTI ID:972823

Trabert, E; Beiersdorfer, P; Brown, G V

We present measurements of high statistical significance of the rate of the magnetic octupole (M3) decay in nickel-like ions of isotopically pure {sup 129}Xe and {sup 132}Xe. On {sup 132}Xe, an isotope with zero nuclear spin and therefore without hyperfine structure, the lifetime of the metastable level was established as (15.06 {+-} 0.24) ms. On {sup 129}Xe, an additional fast (2.7 {+-} 0.1 ms) decay component was established that represents hyperfine mixing with a level that decays by electric quadrupole (E2) radiation.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 972823
• Report Number(s): UCRL-JRNL-226985; PRLTAO; TRN: US1001540
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 98, Issue 26; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
DECAY
HYPERFINE STRUCTURE
LIFETIME
OCTUPOLES
QUADRUPOLES
SPIN