A measurement of B(E3;0+ → 31−) and some E2 transition probabilities in 132, 134, 136, 138Ba using Coulomb excitation

Reduced transition probabilities, B(E2) and B(E3), have been measured for low-lying 2⁺ and 3^? states in ^{132, 134, 136, 138}Ba using Coulomb excitation by 40 MeV ¹²C ions. The B(E2) values are in general consistent with previous measurements and the B(E3;0⁺ → 3₁^?) values are 0.176 ± 0.022, 0.148 ± 0.018, 0.155 ± 0.018 and 0.133 ± 0.013 e² · b³ for ^{132, 134, 136, 138}Ba respectively. These B(E3) values correspond to about 24 to 17 W.u. and such enhancements suggest that these 3^? states have an essentially collective character which may be attributed to octupole vibrations.