PNNL

Abstract

ß-decay properties play an important role in most astrophysical processes. In the absence of experimental data, astrophysical models rely on global theoretical calculations to provide the relevant properties. It is therefore important to provide strong experimental constraints when possible. In the case of ß-decay, the most sensitive probe is the ß-decay strength distribution. We report here on the first measurement of the latter quantity for the ß+ decay of 60Ga using the total absorption spectroscopy technique. The experimental results are compared to theoretical calculations often used in astrophysical models, namely the shell model and the quasi-particle random phase approximation (QRPA), as well as an extension of QRPA that includes higher-order nucleonic calculations. Both models are in reasonable agreement with the experimental results.