Low-lying excitations in Ni 72

Low-lying excited states in Ni72 have been investigated in an in-flight fission experiment at the RIBF facility of the RIKEN Nishina Center. The combination of the state-of-the-art BigRIPS and EURICA setups has allowed for a very accurate study of the β decay from Co72 to Ni72, and has provided first experimental information on the decay sequence Fe72→Co72→Ni72 and on the delayed neutron-emission branch Co73→Ni72. Accordingly, we report nearly 60 previously unobserved γ transitions which deexcite 21 new levels in Ni72. Evidence for the location of the so-sought-after (42+),(62+), and (81+) seniority states is provided. As well, the existence of a low-spin β-decaying isomer in odd-odd neutron-rich Co isotopes is confirmed for mass A=72. The new experimental information is compared to simple shell-model calculations including only neutron excitations across the fpg shells. It is shown that, in general, the calculations reproduce well the observed states.