The 76Cu conundrum remains unsolved

Near the doubly-magic nucleus 78 Ni ( Z = 28 , N = 50 ), there has been a decades-long debate on the existence of a long-lived isomer in 76 Cu. A recent mass measurement claimed to have settled the debate, by measuring the energy of the isomer and shedding light on the structure of the nucleus. In this work, we present new, more accurate, and precise values of the half-lives of the isomeric and ground states in 76 Cu. Our findings suggest that both states have very similar half-lives, in the 600-700 ms range, in disagreement with the literature values, implying that they cannot be differentiated by their decay curves. These results raise more questions than they answer, reopening the debate and showing that the structures in 76 Cu are still not fully understood.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physics Letters B
Published
2025-05-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2025.139551
Primary Topic
Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

The 76Cu conundrum remains unsolved

M. Llanos-Expósito, Y. Ayyad, V. Pucknell, L. J. Harkness-Brennan et al.
Physics Letters B
Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research
article

The 76Cu conundrum remains unsolved

M. Llanos-Expósito, Y. Ayyad, V. Pucknell, L. J. Harkness-Brennan, R. A. Bark, H. O. U. Fynbo, R. Mărginean, A. Algora, M. Araszkiewicz, R.E. Mihai, Á. Perea, M. Siciliano, J. Benito, J. Ojala, K. Rezynkina, O. Tengblad, Zhenyu Yue, F. Galtarossa, N. Mărginean, P. Rahkila, R. Lică, R. Grzywacz, C. Mihai, C. Raison, A. Korgul, B. Andel, R. Heinke, V. Vedia, T. E. Cocolios, I. Lazarus, Tom Berry, L. M. Fraile, J. M. Udı́as, A. N. Andreyev, F. Rotaru, Paula Ibáñez, M. J. G. Borge, J. R. Murias, G. Georgiev, Z. Favier, J. G. Cubiss, P. Van Duppen, K. Johnston, J. Kurcewicz, S. Pascu, Christophe Sotty, Catalin C. Neacsu, R. Wadsworth, W. Poklepa, B. Olaizola, M. Labiche, A. Illana, S. Víñals, K. Schomacker, C. Costache, J. N. Orce, U. Köster, B. A. Marsh, A.M. Plaza, M. Stryjczyk, R. D. Page, P. T. Greenless, David Yates, M. Piersa-Siłkowska, P.M. Jones, E. Nácher, J. Pakarinen, V.M. Nouvilas, C. A. A. Page, H. De Witte, A. Negreţ, M. Madurga, N. Warr, D. S. Judson, E. Rapisarda, K. Chrysalidis, Zs. Podolyák, M. Huyse, J. Konki, D.P. Suárez-Bustamante, G. Del Piccolo, J. Papadakis
article en

Abstract

Near the doubly-magic nucleus 78 Ni ( Z = 28 , N = 50 ), there has been a decades-long debate on the existence of a long-lived isomer in 76 Cu. A recent mass measurement claimed to have settled the debate, by measuring the energy of the isomer and shedding light on the structure of the nucleus. In this work, we present new, more accurate, and precise values of the half-lives of the isomeric and ground states in 76 Cu. Our findings suggest that both states have very similar half-lives, in the 600-700 ms range, in disagreement with the literature values, implying that they cannot be differentiated by their decay curves. These results raise more questions than they answer, reopening the debate and showing that the structures in 76 Cu are still not fully understood.

Physics Letters BVol. 866
Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES), TRIUMF (CA), University of Helsinki (FI), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (IT), Universitat de València (ES), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (ES), Helsinki Institute of Physics (FI), University of Surrey (GB), Horia Hulubei National Institute for R and D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (RO), Instituto de Física Corpuscular (ES), Institut Laue-Langevin (FR), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (IT), Laboratoire de Physique des 2 Infinis Irène Joliot-Curie (FR), Instituto de Estructura de la Materia (ES), University of Warsaw (PL), University of York (GB), European Organization for Nuclear Research (CH), Comenius University Bratislava (SK), National Research Foundation (ZA), University of Jyväskylä (FI), KU Leuven (BE)
Itä-Suomen Yliopisto, Slovenská Akadémia Vied, CERN, European Commission, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Generalitat Valenciana, KU Leuven, Ministerstwo Edukacji i Nauki, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Agentúra na Podporu Výskumu a Vývoja, Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV, Academia Româna, Vlaamse regering, Narodowa Agencja Wymiany Akademickiej, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Horizon 2020, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Openalex Percentile: Top 93%
Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research
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