Lifetime measurements of excited states in ¹⁹⁶Pt

The lifetimes of six excited states in ¹⁹⁶Pt up to an excitation energy of 1525 keV were measured by the recoil-distance method (RDM). These levels were populated by Coulomb excitation using both 90 MeV ²⁰Ne and 220 MeV ⁵⁸Ni ion beams. The measured lifetimes of the 2₁⁺, 4₁⁺, 6₁⁺, 2₂⁺, 4₂⁺ and O₂⁺ states and the B(E2↓) values inferred for the depopulating transitions from these levels are presented. With the exception of the 2₁⁺ state, the meanlives of all other levels are the first such direct experimental determinations to be reported. NUCLEAR REACTIONS ¹⁹⁶Pt Coulomb excitation, 90 MeV ²⁰Ne and 220 MeV ⁵⁸Ni ions, enriched target; measured E_γ, particle-γ coin., recoil-distance method, Doppler-shift attenuation. ¹⁹⁶Pt levels: deduced T_1/2, γ-branching ratios, inferred B(E2↓) values.