Low Energy Structure of (^{136})Cs and its Implications for Xenon Based Astroparticle Physics
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In the past several decades, xenon-based detectors have established themselves as a staple in radiation detection, particularly in the areas of dark-matter and neutrino physics. The recent discovery of low-lying isomeric states in \(^{136}\)Cs, which are populated by the de-excitation of \(^{136}\)Cs’s low-lying 1\(^+\) state, indicates that charged-current interactions in these detectors, such as the interaction between solar neutrinos and 136Xe nuclei, will create time-delayed coincident signals which can be leveraged for remarkable background rejection. To further flesh out the details of these transitions, such as additional branches to these isomeric states, a recent study at TRIUMF used the GRIFFIN array to measure the de-excitation of \(^{136}\)Cs from its 8\(^-\) isomeric state. In this talk, we will share the preliminary results of this study and briefly comment on the effect these results have on the use of xenon detectors in astroparticle physics.