Coulomb Excitation of Neutron-Rich Zn Isotopes: First Observation of the 2+1 State in 80Zn
Phys. Rev. Lett.
Neutron-rich, radioactive Zn isotopes were investigated at the Radioactive Ion Beam facility REX-ISOLDE (CERN) using low-energy Coulomb excitation. The energy of the 2+
1 state in
78
Zn
could be firmly established and for the first time the 2+ →0+
1 transition in
80
Zn
was observed at 1492(1) keV. 𝐵(𝐸2,2+
1 →0+
1) values were extracted for
74,76,78,80
Zn
and compared to large scale shell model calculations. With only two protons outside the 𝑍 =28 proton core,
80
Zn
is the lightest 𝑁 =50 isotone for which spectroscopic information has been obtained to date. Two sets of advanced shell model calculations reproduce the observed 𝐵(𝐸2) systematics. The results for 𝑁 =50 isotones indicate a good 𝑁 =50 shell closure and a strong 𝑍 =28 proton core polarization. The new results serve as benchmarks to establish theoretical models, predicting the nuclear properties of the doubly magic nucleus
78
Ni
.