Measured lifetimes of states in ¹⁹⁷Au and a critical comparison with the weak-coupling core-excitation model

The lifetimes of five excited states in ¹⁹⁷Au up to an excitation energy of 885 keV were measured by the recoil-distance method (RDM). These levels were populated by Coulomb excitation using both 90 MeV ²⁰Ne and 120 MeV ³⁵Cl ion beams. The experimentally determined spectroscopy of the low-lying levels 3 2⁺ (ground state) and 1 2⁺, 3 2₂⁺, 5 2⁺, and 7 2⁺ at 77.3, 268.8, 278.9, and 547.5 keV excitation energy, respectively, has been critically compared with the detailed predictions of the de-Shalit weak-coupling core-excitation model. When the model is taken to represent the case of a d _{3 2} proton hole coupled to a ¹⁹⁸Hg core, the model parameters obtained are in accord with the criteria implicit for weak core coupling and, at the same time, are in remarkably good agreement with virtually all measured E2 and M1 transition rates.