Coincidence measurements following the alpha decay of 245Cm

An investigation has been made into the population of states in 241Pu following the alpha decay of 245Cm. These studies focused on the weakly fed 1/2+[631] rotational band. States populated in this band are expected to decay by electromagnetic transitions to the band head 1/2+ state at an excitation energy of 161.7 keV. This state de-excites to the ground state of 241Pu with a half-life of 0.88 μs. The alpha-particle decay feeding these rotational band members was investigated by performing γ-γ and α-γ coincidence experiments using a 56.3 kBq 245Cm radioactive source. The alpha population of the more strongly populated bands was also investigated, and resulted in two previously observed gamma rays being confidently placed within the 241Pu level scheme. Four gamma rays that were previously unassigned can now be excluded from the alpha decay of 245Cm as a consequence of the present study. (orig.)