Isomeric low-lying states were identified and investigated in the 75 Cu nucleus. Two states at 61.8(5)-and 128.3(7)-keV excitation energies with half-lives of 370(40)-and 170(15)-ns were assigned as 75m1 Cu and 75m2 Cu, respectively. The measured half-lives combined with the recent spin assignment of the ground state allow one to deduce tentatively spin and parity of the two isomers and the dominant multipolarities of the isomeric transitions with respect to the systematics of the Cu isotopes. Shell-model calculations using an up-to-date effective interaction reproduce the evolution of the 1/2 − , 3/2 − , and 5/2 − states for the neutron-rich odd-mass Cu isotopes when filling the νg 9/2 . The results indicate a significant change in the nuclear structure in this region, where a single-particle 5/2 − state coexists with more and more collective 3/2 − and 1/2 − levels at low excitation energies.

At the radioactive ion beam facility REX-ISOLDE, neutron-rich zinc isotopes were investigated using lowenergy Coulomb excitation. These experiments have resulted in B(E2, 2 74,76 Zn and the determination of the energy of the first excited 2 + 1 states in 78,80 Zn. The zinc isotopes were produced by high-energy proton-(A = 74, 76, 80) and neutron-(A = 78) induced fission of 238 U, combined with selective laser ionization and mass separation. The isobaric beam was postaccelerated by the REX linear accelerator and Coulomb excitation was induced on a thin secondary target, which was surrounded by the MINIBALL germanium detector array. In this work, it is shown how the selective laser ionization can be used to deal with the considerable isobaric beam contamination and how a reliable normalization of the experiment can be achieved. The results for zinc isotopes and the N = 50 isotones are compared to collective model predictions and state-of-the-art large-scale shell-model calculations, including a recent empirical residual interaction constructed to describe the present experimental data up to 2004 in this region of the nuclear chart.

The nuclear structure of 67 Co has been investigated through 67 Fe β-decay. The 67 Fe isotopes were produced at the LISOL facility in proton-induced fission of 238 U and selected using resonant laser ionization combined with mass separation. The application of a new correlation technique unambiguously revealed a 496(33) ms isomeric state in 67 Co at an unexpected low energy of 492 keV. A 67 Co level scheme has been deduced. Proposed spin and parities suggest a spherical (7/2 − ) 67 Co ground state and a deformed first excited (1/2 − ) state at 492 keV, interpreted as a proton 1p − 2h prolate intruder state.

The neutron-rich isotopes 65,67 Fe and 65 Co have been produced at the LISOL facility, Louvain-La-Neuve, in the proton-induced fission of 238 U. Beams of these isotopes have been extracted with high selectivity by means of resonant laser ionization combined with mass separation. Yrast and near-yrast levels of 65 Co have also been populated in the 64 Ni+ 238 U reaction at Argonne National Laboratory. The level structure of 65 Co could be investigated by combining all the information from both the 65 Fe and 65 Co β decay and the deep-inelastic reaction. The 65 Fe, 65 Co, and 67 Fe decay schemes and the 65 Co yrast structure are fully established. The 65,67 Co level structures can be interpreted as resulting from the coexistence of core-coupled states with levels based on a low-energy proton-intruder configuration.

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