We have measured the K-shell internal conversion coefficient, alpha-K, for the 65.7-keV M4 transition in 119Sn to be 1621(25). This result agrees well with Dirac-Fock calculations in which the effect of the K-shell atomic vacancy is accounted for, an
d disagrees with calculations in which the vacancy is ignored. This extends our precision tests of theory to Z = 50, the lowest Z yet measured.
We have measured the half-life of the superallowed 0+ -to- 0+ beta+ emitter 26Si to be 2245.3(7) ms. We used pure sources of 26Si and employed a high-efficiency gas counter, which was sensitive to positrons from both this nuclide and its daughter 26m
Al. The data were analyzed as a linked parent-daughter decay. To contribute meaningfully to any test of the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix, the ft value of a superallowed transition must be determined to a precision of 0.1% or better. With a precision of 0.03% the present result is more than sufficient to be compatable with that requirement. Only the branching ratio now remains to be measured precisely before a +/-0.1% ft value can be obtained for the superallowed transition from 26Si.
The half-life of 10C has been measured to be 19.310(4)s, a result with 0.02% precision, which is a factor of three improvement over the best previous result. Since 10C is the lightest superallowed 0+ --> 0+ beta emitter, its ft value has the greatest
weight in setting an upper limit on the possible presence of scalar currents.
