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Description
The double-magic nature of $^{100}$Sn generates the island of $\alpha$-emitters northeast of this N=Z=50 nucleus. The increase of energy-corrected $\alpha$-decay probabilities was considered to be a signature of enhanced $\alpha$ particle preformation and led to the term "superallowed" $\alpha$ decay for nuclei in the region [1]. The N=Z=52 $^{104}$Te is predicted to be the fastest $\alpha$ emitter. Auranen et al. measured $^{104}$Te and found that it is likely a very short-lived nucleus characterized by much-increased preformation, even compared to other nuclei in the region [2]. Due to the limited statistics, the authors could only place an upper limit on the half-life based on the measurement of the decay chain of $^{108}$Xe. Here, we will report the results of the direct measurement of the $^{104}$Te half-life. We used a fast-response, scintillator-based charged-particle detector to measure the decay of $^{108}$Xe, which populates $^{104}$Te. We utilized the projectile fragmentation of a high-intensity $^{124}$Xe beam at RIKEN Radioactive Ion Beam Factory (RIBF) to produce the most $^{108}$Xe nuclei to date. This work will present the experiment's results in the context of the numerous theoretical predictions for the decay of $^{104}$Te.
[1] R. Macfarlane and A. Siivola, Phys. Rev. Lett. 14, 144 (1965)
[2] K. Auranen, et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 182501 (2018)
This work was supported by US DOE No. DE-FG02-96ER40983 and NNSA No. DE-NA0003899
