Revisiting the excitation of the low-lying ${}^{181\text{m}}$Ta isomer in optical laser-generated plasma

Abstract

The excitation of the ${}^{181\text{m}}$Ta isomer in the laser-plasma scenario was claimed to have been observed more than two decades ago. However, the reported experimental findings - and the respective high excitation rate - were later questioned as they could not be reproduced theoretically. The controversy has remained open ever since. In this work, we reinvestigate both theoretically and experimentally the ${}^{181\text{m}}$Ta nuclear excitation in an optical laser-generated plasma. Experimentally we have found no evidence for such an excitation process as consistently predicted by previous and our theoretical models.

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