Investigation of the $^{ 50}$V electron-capture to the $2^+$ 1553.8 keV level of $^{ 50}$Ti and search for $\beta^-$ decay of $^{ 50}$V to the $2^+$ 783.3 keV level of $^{ 50}$Cr (both those decays are fourfold forbidden with $\Delta J^{ \Delta \pi}=4^+$) have been performed using a vanadium sample of natural isotopic abundance with mass of 955 g. The measurements were conducted with the help of an ultra low-background HPGe-detector system located 225 m underground in the laboratory HADES (Belgium). The measured value of the half-life of $^{ 50}$V for electron capture was $T^{ \mathrm{ EC}}_{ 1/2}=(2.77^{ +0.20}_{ -0.19})\times 10^{ 17}$ yr. The $\beta^-$-decay branch was not detected and the corresponding lower bound of the half-life was $T^{ \beta}_{ 1/2}\geq 8.9\times 10^{ 18}$ yr at the 90\% confidence level.
Categories: nucl-ex