Masses and β-Decay Spectroscopy of Neutron-Rich Odd-Odd 160,162 Eu Nuclei: Evidence for a Subshell Gap with Large Deformation at N = 98
The structure of deformed neutron-rich nuclei in the rare-earth region is of significant interest for both the astrophysics and nuclear structure fields. At present, a complete explanation for the observed peak in the elemental abundances at A ~ 160 eludes astrophysicists, and models depend on accurate quantities, such as masses, lifetimes, and branching ratios of deformed neutron-rich nuclei in this region. Unusual nuclear structure effects are also observed, such as the unexpectedly low energies of the first 2 + levels in some even-even nuclei at N = 98. In order to address these issues, mass and β-decay spectroscopy measurements of the 160 Eu 97 and 162 Eu 99 nuclei were performed at the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade radioactive beam facility at Argonne National Laboratory. Here, evidence for a gap in the single-particle neutron energies at N = 98 and for large deformation (β 2 ~ 0.3) is discussed in relation to the unusual phenomena observed at this neutron number.