title: Isomeric Character of the Lowest Observed 4^{+} State in ^{44}S.
abstract: Previous experiments observed a 4^{+} state in the N=28 nucleus ^{44}S and suggested that this state may exhibit a hindered E2-decay rate, inconsistent with being a member of the collective ground state band. We populate this state via two-proton knockout from a beam of exotic ^{46}Ar projectiles and measure its lifetime using the recoil distance method with the GRETINA γ-ray spectrometer. The result, 76(14)_{stat}(20)_{syst}  ps, implies a hindered transition of B(E2;4^{+}→2_{1}^{+})=0.61(19) single-particle or Weisskopf units strength and supports the interpretation of the 4^{+} state as a K=4 isomer, the first example of a high-K isomer in a nucleus of such low mass.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wiedenhöver
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, USA.
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Cottle
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McPherson
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Santiago-Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Volya
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baugher
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bazin
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gade
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ginter
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loelius
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morse
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Recchia
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smalley
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Stroberg
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Whitmore
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weisshaar
authors.affiliation: Grand Accélérateur National dIons Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DSM-CNRS/IN2P3 Caen, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lemasson
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Nuclear Science Division, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720-8153, USA.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Nuclear Science Division, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720-8153, USA.
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Macchiavelli
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 48859, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wimmer