Abstract
Abstract: The nuclear structure of 124Xe has been investigated via measurements of the ?+/EC decay of 124Cs with the 8p ? -ray spectrometer at the TRIUMF-ISAC facility. The data collected have enabled branching ratio measurements of weak, low-energy transitions from highly excited states, and the 2+ —> 0+ in-band transitions have been observed. Combining these results with those from a previous Coulomb excitation study, B(E2; 2+ 3 —> 0+ 2 ) = 78(13) W.u. and B(E2; 2+ 4 —> 0+ 3 ) = 53(12) W.u. were determined. The 0+ 3 state, in particular, is interpreted as the main fragment of the proton-pairing vibrational band identified in a previous 122Te(3He,n)124Xe measurement, and has quadrupole collectivity equal to, within uncertainty, that of the ground-state band.