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Title: {beta}-Delayed Deuteron Emission from {sup 11}Li: Decay of the Halo

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
; ;  [1]; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [2]; ;  [3]; ;  [4];  [1]; ;  [5];  [1]
  1. Instituut voor Kern- en Stralingsfysica, K.U.Leuven, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)
  2. TRIUMF, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 2A3 (Canada)
  3. Instituto de Estructura de la Materia, CSIC, Madrid (Spain)
  4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark)
  5. Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States)

The deuteron-emission channel in the {beta} decay of the halo nucleus {sup 11}Li was measured at the Isotope Separator and Accelerator facility at TRIUMF by implanting postaccelerated {sup 11}Li ions into a segmented silicon detector. The events of interest were identified by correlating the decays of {sup 11}Li with those of the daughter nuclei. This method allowed the energy spectrum of the emitted deuterons to be extracted, free from contributions from other channels, and a precise value for the branching ratio B{sub d}=1.30(13)x10{sup -4} to be deduced for E{sub c.m.}>200 keV. The results provide the first unambiguous experimental evidence that the decay takes place essentially in the halo of {sup 11}Li and that it proceeds mainly to the {sup 9}Li+d continuum, opening up a new means to study the halo wave function of {sup 11}Li.

OSTI ID:
21179924
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Vol. 101, Issue 21; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.212501; (c) 2008 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English