Single-neutron orbits near Ni-78: Spectroscopy of the N=49 isotope Zn-79

Single-neutron states in the Z=30, N=49 isotope 79Zn have been populated using the 78Zn(d, p)79Zn transfer reaction at REX-ISOLDE, CERN. The experimental setup allowed the combined detection of protons ejected in the reaction, and of γ rays emitted by 79Zn. The analysis reveals that the lowest excited states populated in the reaction lie at approximately 1 MeV of excitation, and involve neutron orbits above the N=50 shell gap. From the analysis of γ-ray data and of proton angular distributions, characteristic of the amount of angular momentum transferred, a 5/2+ configuration was assigned to a state at 983 keV. Comparison with large-scale-shell-model calculations supports a robust neutron N=50 shell-closure for 78Ni. These data constitute an important step towards the understanding of the magicity of 78Ni and of the structure of nuclei in the region.