<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mmultiscripts><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Sn</mml:mi><mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/><mml:mrow><mml:mn>108</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:mmultiscripts></mml:math>studied with intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation

The unstable neutron-deficient $^{108}\mathrm{Sn}$ isotope has been studied in inverse kinematics by intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation using the RISING/FRS experimental setup at GSI. This is the highest Z nucleus studied so far with this method. Its reduced transition probability B (E2;0${}_{g.s.}^{+}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{2}_{1}^{+})$ has been measured for the first time. The extracted B($E2$) value of $0.230(57){e}^{2}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}{b}^{2}$ has been determined relative to the known value in the stable $^{112}\mathrm{Sn}$ isotope. The result is discussed in the framework of recent large-scale shell model calculations performed with realistic effective interactions. The roles of particle-hole excitations of the $^{100}\mathrm{Sn}$ core and of the $Z=50$ shell gap for the E2 polarization are investigated.