Enhanced strength of the 2(1)(+) -> 0(g.s.)(+) transition in Sn-114 studied via Coulomb excitation in inverse kinematics

The 2(1)(+) states of Sn-114,Sn-116 were excited in two consecutive experiments by means of Coulomb excitation in inverse kinematics on a Ni-58 target. A precise determination of the reduced transition probability B(E2; 0(g.s.)(+) -> 2(1)(+)) of Sn-114 relative to the well-known 2(1)(+) excitation strength in Sn-116 was achieved by comparing the relative projectile to target 2(1)(+) -> 0(g.s.)(+) decay intensities. The obtained B(E2 up arrow) value of 0.232(8)e(2)b(2) for Sn-114 confirms the tendency of large B(E2 up arrow) values for the light tin isotopes below the midshell Sn-116 that has been observed recently in various radioactive ion beam experiments. The result establishes most clearly the discrepancy between the current B(E2 up arrow) value predictions from large-scale shell-model calculations and the experimental deviation, which commences already for the stable Sn-114 isotope.