Decay ofCa38

Abstract

The decay of a new isotope, ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{38}$, produced by the reaction ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{40}(\gamma , 2n)$, has been observed via branching of the beta decay to a 3.5-Mev excited state of ${\mathrm{K}}^{38}$. The observed half-life of (0.66±0.05) second is consistent with a $log\mathrm{}\left(\mathrm{ft}\right)\mathrm{}$ value of 3.5 for the ground-state transition. The tentative assignment for the ${\mathrm{K}}^{38}$ excited state is $J=1^{+}$, $T=0\mathrm{}$ although $J=0^{+}$, $T=1\mathrm{}$ is also possible. A search for branching in the decay of ${\mathrm{S}}^{30}$ is also discussed.