Electromagnetic excitation of the double giant dipole resonance in 136Xe.

The nuclear response of a medium-mass nucleus ([sup 136]Xe) to electromagnetic excitation in a near-relativistic heavy-ion collision was investigated in the reaction[sup 136]Xe(0.7[ital A] GeV)+Pb. From an exclusive measurement of the neutron decay of the excited [sup 136]Xe projectiles, strong excitations of giant resonances and, in particular, of the double isovector giant dipole resonance were identified. A resonance energy of 28.3[plus minus]0.7 MeV, a width of 6.3[plus minus]1.6 MeV, and a total cross section of 215[plus minus]50 mb were found for the double giant dipole resonance.