  The probabilities for gamma-ray and particle emission as a function of the
excitation energy of a decaying nucleus are valuable observables for
constraining the ingredients of the models that describe the de-excitation of
nuclei near the particle emission threshold. These models are essential in
nuclear astrophysics and applications. In this work, we have for the first time
simultaneously measured the gamma-ray and neutron emission probabilities of
208Pb. The measurement was performed in inverse kinematics at the Experimental
Storage Ring (ESR) of the GSI/FAIR facility, where a 208Pb beam interacted
through the 208Pb(p,p') reaction with a hydrogen gas jet target. Instead of
detecting the gamma-rays and neutrons emitted by 208Pb, we detected the heavy
beam-like residues produced after gamma and neutron emission. These heavy
residues were fully separated by a dipole magnet of the ESR and were detected
with outstanding efficiencies. The comparison of the measured probabilities
with model calculations has allowed us to test different descriptions of the
gamma-ray strength function and the nuclear level density available in the
literature.
