Precision Lifetime Measurements Using LaBr₃ Detectors With Stable and Radioactive Beams

¹ Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK
² National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
³ Department of Physics,College of Science in Zulfi, Almajmaah University, PO Box 66, 11952, Saudi Arabia
⁴ School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brighton, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, UK
⁵ Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), RO-077125, Bucharest, Romania
⁶ University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland
⁷ KACST, PO Box 6086, Riyadh, 11442, Saudi Arabia
⁸ Institute for Nuclear Research and Engineering (IRNE), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
⁹ Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, 46556, USA
¹⁰ Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
¹¹ IFIC, CSIC-Universidad de Valencia, A.C. 22085, E 46071, Valencia, Spain
¹² NSCL, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
¹³ Wright Nuclear Structure Facility, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8120, USA
¹⁴ Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia St Kliment Ohridski, BG-1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
¹⁵ STFC, Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington, UK
¹⁶ RIKEN Nishina Centre, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-Shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
¹⁷ Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2461 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510, Japan
¹⁸ Department of Physics, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
¹⁹ Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan

^a e-mail: p.regan@surrey.ac.uk

Published online: 19 December 2013

Abstract

A range of high resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy measurements have been carried out using arrays which include a number of Cerium-doped Lanthanum-Tribromide (LrBr₃(Ce)) scintillation detectors used in conjunction with high-resolution hyper-pure germanium detectors. Examples of the spectral and temporal responses of such set-ups, using both standard point radioactive sources ¹⁵²Eu and ⁵⁶Co, and in-beam fusionevaporation reaction experiments for precision measurements of nuclear excited states in ³⁴P and ¹³⁸Ce are presented. The current and future use of such arrays at existing (EURICA at RIKEN) and future (NUSTAR at FAIR) secondary radioactive beam facilities for precision measurements of excited nuclear state lifetimes in the 10 ps to 10 ns regime are also discussed.