Sc at FRIB

The study of nuclear isomers provides crucial insights into nuclear models and the evolution of shell structure in neutron-rich nuclei. The decay properties of these isomers are essential for their characterization and can serve as sensitive probes to changes in the nuclear structure of these exotic nuclei.

In two separate FRIB experiments, excited states in ⁵⁴Sc, including a newly identified nanosecond isomer, were populated. These experiments involved the production and delivery of a cocktail of neutron-rich nuclei around ⁵⁴Ca to two distinct high-resolution and total absorption focal planes at the FRIB Decay Station initiator (FDSi), allowing for a complete decay spectroscopy of ⁵⁴Sc.

Newly measured and re-evaluated decay properties of these states will be presented, and the structure of ⁵⁴Sc will be discussed in the context of proton-neutron coupling at N = 33, with inferences drawn from comparisons with shell-model and ab-initio calculations.