Precision measurement of sub-nanosecond lifetimes of excited nuclear states using fast-timing coincidences with LaBr3(Ce) detectors

Precision measurements of electromagnetic (EM) transition rates enable tests of models of internal nuclear structure. Measurements of transition rates can be used to infer the spin and parity differences between the initial and final discrete nuclear excited states via which the EM transition takes place. This short conference paper reports on developments of detection systems for the identification of discrete energy gamma-ray decays using arrays of halide-scintillation detectors acting in coincidence mode, which can be used to determine electromagnetic transition rates between excited nuclear states in the sub-nanosecond temporal regime. Ongoing development of a new multi-detector LaBr3(Ce) array for studies of exotic nuclei produced at the upcoming Facility for Anti-Proton and Ion Research (FAIR) as part of the NUSTAR-DESPEC project are presented, together with initial results from pre-NUSTAR implementations of this array for nuclear structure studies of neutron-rich fission fragment radionuclides at ILL-Grenoble, France and RIBF at RIKEN, Japan.