Beta Decay Studies of Neutron-Rich Nuclei near $^{52}$Ca*

The $\beta$ decay and isomeric properties of neutron-rich nuclei near semi-magic $^{52}$Ca were studied at NSCL. The presence of a significant energy gap, separating the neutron \textit{f}$_{5/2}$ and \textit{p}$_{1/2}$ single-particle states from the \textit{p}$_{3/2}$ level at \textit{N}=32, has a stabilizing effect on the low-energy structure of nuclides in this region. We report the results for the low-energy structure of $^{50}$K, which has one proton hole and one neutron hole outside $^{52}$Ca, determined from isomeric decay. We also discuss new levels in $^{53}$Sc, one proton outside $^{52}$Ca, populated following the $\beta$ decay of $^{53}$Ca. Both findings reinforce previous evidence for the doubly-magic character of the $^{52}$Ca core.