First measurement of the β-decay half-life of ²⁰⁶Au

¹ Università degli Studi di Milano - I-20133 Milano, Italy
² INFN, Sezione di Milano, I-20133 Milano, Italy
³ Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Kerbala, Kerbala, Iraq
⁴ Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK
⁵ National Physical laboratory, Teddington, Middelsex, TW11 0LW, UK
⁶ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Legnaro, Italy
⁷ GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany

Received: 24 August 2015
Accepted: 31 August 2015

Abstract

The β decay of the N = 127 isotone ²⁰⁶Au has been investigated at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung laboratory within the rare isotope investigations at GSI Collaboration. From the experimental data, both its half-life and the level structure of the N = 126 daughter nucleus ²⁰⁶Hg have been extracted. On the basis of the new results, the systematics of Au β-decay half-lives beyond the N = 126 shell closure is discussed. In addition, the interplay between allowed Gamow-Teller and first-forbidden transitions in the N > 126, Z < 82 mass region is reviewed.