High-precision half-life determination of 14O via direct β counting

The half-life of the superallowed Fermi beta(+) emitter O-14 was determined to high precision via a direct beta counting experiment performed at the Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) facility at TRIUMF. The result, T-1/2(O-1(4)) = 70619.2(76) ms, is consistent with, but is more precise than, the world average obtained from 11 previous measurements. Combining the O-14 half-life deduced in the present work with the previous most precise measurements of this quantity leads to a reduction in the overall uncertainty, by nearly a factor of 2. The new world average is T-1/2(O-1(4)) = 70619.6(63) ms with a reduced chi(2) value of 0.87 obtained from 8 degrees of freedom.

Automated summary

The half-life of the superallowed Fermi beta(+) emitter O-14 has been determined with high precision through a direct beta counting experiment at the ISAC facility at TRIUMF. The new measurement is more precise and consistent with the previous world average. By combining this result with previous precise measurements, the overall uncertainty has been reduced by nearly a factor of 2. The new world average is T-1/2(O-14) = 70619.6(63) ms with a reduced chi(2) value of 0.87 obtained from 8 degrees of freedom.