Precise half-life measurement of the superallowed beta(+) emitter Si-26
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We measured the half-life of the superallowed 0+0 + + emitter Si26 to be 2245.3(7) ms. We used pure sources of Si26 and employed a high-efficiency gas counter, which was sensitive to positrons from both this nuclide and its daughter Al26m. The data were analyzed as a linked parent-daughter decay. To contribute meaningfully to any test of the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix, the ft value of a superallowed transition must be determined to a precision of 0.1% or better. With a precision of 0.03%, the present result is more than sufficient to be compatible with that requirement. Only the branching ratio now remains to be measured precisely before a 0.1% ft value can be obtained for the superallowed transition from Si26. 2010 The American Physical Society.