(Ce) detectors in the neutron-rich N = 20 region

Changes in nuclear shell structure can occur due to varying proton and neutron numbers inside the nucleus. Sensitive probes to those changes, so-called “nuclear shell evolution”, are nuclear transition rates, which depend in part on understanding the level lifetimes. The National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) conducted a β decay experiment in the neutron-rich N = 20 region where radioactive nuclei were implanted into a CeBr₃ scintillator coupled to a Position-Sensitive Photomultiplier Tube (PSMPT), which offered the ability to correlate the decays to the implanted ions using spatial and temporal techniques. 15 LaBr₃(Ce) detectors were used for γ radiation detection and to provide fast timing measurement, with time-difference spectra generated for β-delayed γ radiation following a decay event to measure half-lives. Corrections for the energy-dependent time-walk effects and validation results in the neutron-rich N = 20 region will be presented.