β-Decay of the ^74,75Ni Istopes

The process of element synthesis beyond Fe is an open question in modern physics largely because this synthesis happens exclusively in stars. We know that the rapid neutron capture process, also known as the r-process, is accountable for the production of nearly half of the isotopes of these heavier elements. Therefore, it is imperative that the isotopes resulting from the r-process are studied. A beam of isotopes with atomic masses close to 75amu was produced at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) and was embedded into a Double Sided Silicon Strip Detector. The Summing NaI detector (SuN), a large volume detector surrounding the Double Sided SIlicon Strip Detector at the NSCL, was able to detect the gamma rays emitted in the β-decay of 74,75Ni, which provides information about both the populated levels and individual gamma ray in the daughter nuclei. Using the Total Absorption Spectroscopy (TAS) technique, these measurements can provide new information like beta decay intensities in 74,75Ni and their daughter nuclei 74,75Cu. The conclusions drawn from this experiment will be extremely beneficial to the study of unstable isotopes along the r-process path.