Search for $2p$ decay of the first excited state of $^{17}$Ne
  Two-proton decay of the $^{17}$Ne low-lying states populated in the $^1$H($^{18}$Ne,$d$)$^{17}$Ne transfer reaction was studied. The two-proton width $\Gamma_{2p}$ of the $^{17}$Ne first excited $3/2^-$ state at $E^*=1.288$ MeV is of importance for the two-proton radioactivity theory and nuclear-astrophysics applications. A dedicated search for the two-proton emission of this state was performed leading to the new upper limit obtained for the width ratio $\Gamma_{2p}/\Gamma_{\gamma} < 1.6(3) \times 10^{-4}$. A novel, "combined mass" method is suggested and tested capable to improve the resolution of the experiment which is a prime significance for the study of nuclear states with extremely small particle-to-gamma width ratios $\Gamma_{\mathrm{part}}/\Gamma_{\gamma}$. The condition $\Gamma_{\mathrm{part}} \ll \Gamma_{\gamma}$ is quite common for the states of astrophysical interest which makes the proposed approach promising in this field. 
P. G. Sharov, A. A. Bezbakh, V. Chudoba, A. S. Fomichev, M. S.   Golovkov, A. V. Gorshkov, L. V. Grigorenko, G. Kaminski, A....
nucl-ex