Accessing tens-to-hundreds femtoseconds nuclear state lifetimes with low-energy binary heavy-ion reactions

novel Monte Carlo technique has been developed to determine lifetimes of excited states in the tens-to-hundreds femtoseconds range in products of low-energy heavy-ion binary reactions, with complex velocity distributions. The method is based on a detailed study of Doppler-broadened γ -ray lineshapes. Its relevance is demonstrated in connection with the ^18O(7.0 MeV/u)+ ^181Ta experiment, performed at GANIL with the AGATA+VAMOS+PARIS setup, to study neutron-rich O, C, N, ... nuclei. Excited states in ^17O and ^19O , with known lifetimes, are used to validate the method over the ∼ 20-400 fs lifetime-sensitivity range. Emphasis is given to the unprecedented position resolution provided by γ -tracking arrays, which turns out to be essential for reaching the required accuracy in Doppler-shift correction. The technique is anticipated to be an important tool for lifetime investigations in exotic neutron-rich nuclei, produced with intense ISOL-type beams.