Decay Properties at the Driplines

The neutron and proton drip lines define the limits of nuclear existence and serve as critical benchmarks for modern nuclear theory. Their locations constrain nuclear interactions, many-body correlations, and mass predictions under extreme isospin conditions. Studies at both drip lines explore the interplay of nuclear structure, weak binding, and continuum effects, offering critical insights into the emergence and limits of nuclear stability. Decay properties of these dripline nuclei serve as key observables that help identify the underlying physics. At the proton drip line, where Coulomb repulsion pushes nuclei to instability, lifetimes reflect proton separation energies, shell structure evolution, and the competition between particle emission and delayed decay. These studies are key to refining mass models and understanding nucleosynthesis via the rp-process. Similarly, at the neutron drip line, short-lived nuclei probe weak binding, continuum effects, and changes in nuclear structure, particularly in regions where separation energies approach zero and shell closures evolve.

Observables such as half-lives, neutron emission probabilities, and level schemes in these nuclei serve as stringent tests for nuclear theory far from stability. This talk will discuss decay properties of dripline and near-dripline nuclei with a focus on half-lives, their implications, and techniques used to determine them. Recent decay lifetime measurements from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), including newly measured β-decay half-lives of ³¹F and ³⁷Na using the FRIB Decay Station Initiator (FDSi), will also be presented. These results contribute to the broader effort to map the nuclear landscape at the extremes of binding, where theoretical predictions face their most stringent tests.