Two-proton decay from Isobaric Analog States of light nuclei

Recent experiments at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University using the charged-particle array HiRA and the gamma-ray array CAESAR have shed light on a new class of two-proton emitters associated with Isobaric Analog States (IAS). The two-proton decay is to the Isobaric Analog state of the daughter, which then gamma decays. These isospin-allowed transitions occur when one-proton decays are forbidden by either energy or isospin conservation, and when two-proton decay to the ground state is isospin forbidden. Three possible examples of this decay path will be discussed ($^{8}$B$_{IAS}$, $^{12}$N$_{IAS}$, and $^{16}$F$_{IAS})$. The known IAS of $^{8}$C in $^{8}$B was confirmed to decay by two-proton emission to the 3.56 MeV IAS in $^{6}$Li. While the IAS in $^{8}$B was previously known, it was measured in this experiment with unbiased statistics and in coincidence with the 3.56 MeV gamma-ray. The IAS in $^{16}$F was investigated for the first time in this experiment and is still under investigation. Previous work on the IAS of $^{12}$O in $^{12}$N at the Cyclotron Institute at Texas A{\&}M will also be presented.