High-precision half-life measurement for the superallowed β+ emitter ²⁶Al(m)

Phys Rev Lett. 2011 Jan 21;106(3):032501. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.032501. Epub 2011 Jan 21.

Abstract

A high-precision half-life measurement for the superallowed β+ emitter 26Al(m) was performed at the TRIUMF-ISAC radioactive ion beam facility yielding T 1/2 6346.54 ± 0.46(stat) ± 0.60 (syst) ms, consistent with, but 2.5 times more precise than, the previous world average. The 26Al(m) half-life and ft value, 3037.53(61) s, are now the most precisely determined for any superallowed β decay. Combined with recent theoretical corrections for isospin-symmetry-breaking and radiative effects, the corrected Ft value for (26)Al(m), 3073.0(12) s, sets a new benchmark for the high-precision superallowed Fermi β-decay studies used to test the conserved vector current hypothesis and determine the V(ud) element of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa quark mixing matrix.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aluminum / chemistry*
  • Beta Particles*
  • Half-Life
  • Radioisotopes / chemistry*

Substances

  • Radioisotopes
  • Aluminum