Decay of the 12O ground state

The previously measured decay of the ground state of 12O was reanalyzed based on new experimental and theoretical results for the ground state of 11N. In the previous analysis no evidence for diproton emission was found and the measured large decay width was inconsistent with sequential proton decay via the intermediate system of 11N. The recent results on 11N show evidence that the ground state of 11N is at substantially lower energy allowing for a consistent explanation of the two-proton decay of 12O in terms of sequential proton emission. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society