The lifetime of the 03+ state in 120Sn was measured for the first time applying the fast-timing technique following thermal neutron capture. The mean lifetime of τ=50(7)~ps leads to a E0 transition strength of 103×ρ2(E0;03+→02+)=120(50), suggesting shape coexistence and a high degree of mixing between the 02+ and 03+ states. With the newly measured lifetime, the B(E2;03+→21+) value is 0.50(7)~W.u., which reveals that the ρ2(E0;03+→01+) increases by a factor of ≈3.4 from 116Sn to 120Sn.
@article{arxiv.2508.00204,
title = {Evidence for shape coexistence in $^{120}$Sn from the first $0^+_3$ lifetime measurement},
author = {F. Wu and C. Andreoiu and V. Karayonchev and C. M. Petrache and J. -M. Régis and A. Esmaylzadeh and C. Michelagnoli and M. Beuschlein and P. Spagnoletti and G. Colombi and J. M. Daugas and L. Domenichetti and P. E. Garrett and J. Jolie and M. Ley and S. Pannu and E. Taddei},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.00204},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
6 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, published in Phys. Rev. C