Single-neutron states and the role of the $\nu g_{9/2}$ orbital in $^{71}$Zn

The high-spin structure of $^{71}$Zn has been investigated at ATLAS by means of the deep inelastic reaction $^{48}$Ca+$^{70}$Zn at 25\% above the Coulomb barrier, using GRETINA and CHICO-2. In conjunction with GAMMASPHERE data from a similar reaction with a $^{70}$Zn beam on a thick $^{197}$Au target, a level scheme associated with the 3.96 h, 9/2$^{+}$ isomer in $^{71}$Zn was delineated with the aim to achieve a better understanding of the nature of the neutron excitations close to N = 40. The level sequences built on the $g_{9/2}$ neutron orbital all appear to be of single-particle character. The results will be presented and compared with shell-model calculations using modern effective interactions.