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A program of high-precision superallowed Fermi β decay studies is being carried out at the Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) radioactive ion beam facility at TRIUMF. Recent high-precision branching ratio measurements for the superallowed decays of 74Rb and 26Alm, as well as a half-life measurement for 26Alm that is the most precise half-life measurement for any superallowed emitter to date, are reported. These results provide demanding tests of the theoretical isospin symmetry breaking corrections in superallowed Fermi β decays.

The TRIUMF‐ISAC Gamma‐Ray Escape Suppressed Spectrometer (TIGRESS) is a state‐of‐the‐art γ‐ray spectrometer being constructed at the ISAC‐II radioactive ion beam facility at TRIUMF. TIGRESS will be comprised of twelve 32‐fold segmented high‐purity germanium (HPGe) clover‐type γ‐ray detectors, with BGO∕CsI(Tl) Compton‐suppression shields, and is currently operational at ISAC‐II in an early‐implementation configuration of six detectors. Results have been obtained for the first experiments performed using TIGRESS, which examined the A = 20, 21, and 29 isotopes of Na by Coulomb excitation.

Fusion‐fission reactions were induced by bombarding a thick 27Al target with 178Hf projectiles at a laboratory energy of 1150 MeV using the ATLAS accelerator at Argonne National Laboratory. The subsequent γ‐ray decays were measured using the GAMMASPHERE germanium detector array. The beam was pulsed at two different ON/OFF cycles of 82.5/825 ns and 25/75 μs in order to observe the γ rays from the decay of isomeric states. In 121Sb 2721+Δ keV, Iπ=(25/2+) and 2434 keV, Iπ=19/2− states have measured half‐lives of T1/2=200(30) μs and 8.2(2) ns respectively. The 2614+Δ keV, Iπ=(27/2+) and 2486 keV, Iπ=19/2+ states in 123Sb have measured half‐lives of T1/2=52(3) μs and 7.9(4) ns respectively. The positive parity isomers in these nuclei correspond to a πd5/2 or πg7/2 configuration, in 121Sb and 123Sb respectively, coupled to aligned (h11/2)2 neutrons. The Iπ=19/2− isomeric state in 121Sb is proposed to have a νh11/2 ⊗ νd3/2 ⊗ πd5/2 configuration. A previously unobserved isomer has been identified in 99Mo at an en...

The 8π spectrometer at TRIUMF-ISAC consists of 20 Compton-suppressed germanium detectors and various auxiliary devices. The Ge array, once used for studies of nuclei at high angular momentum, has been transformed into the world's most powerful device dedicated to radioactive-decay studies. Many improvements in the spectrometer have been made, including a high-throughput data acquisition system, installation of a moving tape collector, incorporation of an array of 20 plastic scintillators for β-particle tagging, 5 Si(Li) detectors for conversion electrons, and 10 BaF detectors for fast-lifetime measurements. Experiments can be performed where data from all detectors are collected simultaneously, resulting in a very detailed view of the nucleus through radioactive decay. A number of experimental programmes have been launched that take advantage of the versatility of the spectrometer, and the intense beams available at TRIUMF-ISAC. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Near‐yrast states have been identified in the stable 91,92Zr isotopes using the fusion evaporation reaction 82Se(13C,xn)95−xZr at an incident beam energy of 50 MeV. Gamma‐ray spectroscopy of states above the reported τ = 6 μs, Iπ=212+ isomer in 91Zr are reported for the first time with consequences for stimulating new shell model calculations which incorporate either the breaking of the N=50 shell closure and/or the inclusion of the negative parity h11/2 neutron intruder orbital.

Recent high-spin studies in the mass 60 region of highly deformed and superdeformed shapes are discussed. The experimental data are from reaction channel selected γ-spectroscopic measurements at Gammasphere. Points of special attention are rotational bands in nuclei below the Z=28 shell gap and measurements of transition quadrupole moments throughout the region.