Abstract:
We report on new measurements establishing the existence of low-lying isomeric states in ^{136}Cs using γ rays produced in ^{136}Xe(p,n)^{136}Cs reactions. Two states with O(100) ns lifetimes are placed in the decay sequence of the ^{136}Cs levels that are populated in charged-current interactions of solar neutrinos and fermionic dark matter with ^{136}Xe. Xenon-based experiments can therefore exploit a delayed-coincidence tag of these interactions, greatly suppressing backgrounds to enable spectroscopic studies of solar neutrinos and dark matter.