High precision measurements of 26Na β- decay

Abstract

High-precision measurements of the half-life and β-branching ratios for the β- decay of 26Na to 26Mg have been measured in β-counting and γ-decay experiments, respectively. A 4π proportional counter and fast tape transport system were employed for the half-life measurement, whereas the γ rays emitted by the daughter nucleus 26Mg were detected with the 8π γ-ray spectrometer, both located at TRIUMF's isotope separator and accelerator radioactive beam facility. The half-life of 26Na was determined to be T1/2 = 1.07128 ± 0.00013 ± 0.00021 s, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. The log f t values derived from these experiments are compared with theoretical values from a full sd-shell model calculation. ©2005 The American Physical Society.