Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 150, 131-134 (2007)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2007-00285-5

Identification of the ¹⁰⁹Xe and ¹⁰⁵Te α-decay chain

¹ UNIRIB, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
² Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, P.O. Box 117, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
³ Physics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
⁴ Dept. of Physics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZE, UK
⁵ Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, P.O. Box 117, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
⁶ Dept. of Chemistry, University of Maryland, P.O. Box 117, College Park, Baltimore, MD, 20742, USA
⁷ Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 117, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA
⁸ Institute of Experimental Physics, Warsaw University, 00681 Warszawa, Poland
⁹ Joint Institute for Heavy-Ion Research, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
¹⁰ Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31342 Kraków, Poland

Received: 31 January 2007
Published online: 8 December 2007

Abstract

The α-decay chain ¹⁰⁹Xe → ¹⁰⁵Te → ¹⁰¹Sn was identified at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility. Advances in digital electronics have made possible the identification of both alpha emitters in the same experiment despite the disparate half-lives of 13 ±2 ms and 620 ±70 ns for ¹⁰⁹Xe and ¹⁰⁵Te, respectively. Two α-decay transitions were observed from ¹⁰⁹Xe with Q_α values of 4067 ±10 and 4217 ±8 keV. One transition between the ground states of ¹⁰⁵Te and ¹⁰¹Sn was observed with a Q_α value of 4889 ±6 keV. Using the measured half-lives, branching ratios, and Q_α values the reduced α-decay widths, δ², were determined. Comparison of the δ² value for ¹⁰⁵Te with ²¹³Po indicates a “superallowed" character in the α emission of ¹⁰⁵Te.