Abstract
The -decay properties of the nuclei , , and have been studied. These nuclei were produced at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory by fragmenting a primary beam on a Be target. The resulting radioactive beam was filtered in the A1900 and the newly commissioned Radio Frequency Fragment Separator to achieve a purity level suitable for decay studies. The observed production cross sections of these nuclei are lower than predicted by factors of 10–30. The half-life of , which was the last experimentally unknown waiting point half-life of the astrophysical process, is . The implications of the experimental value of on the abundances predicted by process calculations and the origin of isobars such as are explored.
- Received 27 June 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.252501
©2008 American Physical Society