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The nuclear structure of $^{66}$Se, nucleus beyond the N=Z line on the proton-rich side of the valley of stability, was investigated by the neutron knock-out reaction $^{67}$Se($^{12}$C,X)$^{66}$Se using a $^{12}$C target. The analysis of the singles spectrum of the γ-rays emitted during the de-excitation of the populated low-lying excited states revealed two previously detected (927(4) keV, 1460(32) keV) and three new (744(6) keV, 1210(17) keV, 1661(23) keV) transitions. The 744-keV, the 1210-keV, and the 1460-keV transitions were found to be in coincidence with the one at 927 keV. The spectrum coincident with the 927-keV transition showed a further possible transition at 299(35) keV, which was obscured by significant atomic background in the singles spectrum. This transition might correspond to a peak previously reported at 273(5) keV that could not be assigned to $^{66}$Se unambiguously. Based on a comparison of the experimental data to theoretical calculations, four new excited states are proposed which suggest that $^{66}$Se exhibits shape coexistence.

The β-decay of the even-even nucleus $^{70}$Kr with Z=N+2, has been investigated at the Radioactive Ion Beam Factory (RIBF) of the RIKEN Nishina Center using the BigRIPS fragment separator, the ZeroDegree Spectrometer, the WAS3ABI implantation station and the EURICA HPGe cluster array. Fifteen γ-rays associated with the β-decay of $^{70}$Kr into $^{70}$Br have been identified for the first time, defining ten populated states below Eexc=3300 keV. The half-life of $^{70}$Kr was derived with increased precision and found to be t1/2=45.19±0.14 ms. The β-delayed proton emission probability has also been determined as εp=0.545(23)%. An increase in the β-strength to the yrast 1$^{+}$ state in comparison with the heaviest Z=N+2 system studied so far ($^{62}$Ge decay) is observed that may indicate increased np correlations in the T=0 channel. The β-decay strength deduced from the results is interpreted in terms of the proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation (pnQRPA) and also with a schematic model that includes isoscalar and isovector pairing in addition to quadrupole deformation. The application of this last model indicates an approximate realization of pseudo-SU(4) symmetry in this system.

The neutron-rich dysprosium isotopes $^{168}$Dy$_{102}$ and $^{169}$Dy$_{103}$ have been investigated using the EURICA γ-ray spectrometer, following production via in-flight fission of a high-intensity uranium beam in conjunction with isotope separation through the BigRIPS separator at RIBF in RIKEN Nishina Center. For $^{168}$Dy, a previously unreported isomer with a half-life of 0.57(7) μs has been identified at an excitation energy of 1378 keV, and its presence affirmed independently using γ-γ-γ coincidence data taken with Gammasphere via two-proton transfer from an enriched $^{170}$Er target performed at Argonne National Laboratory. This isomer is assigned Jπ=Kπ=(4−) based on the measured transition strengths, decay patterns, and the energy systematics for two-quasiparticle states in N=102 isotones. The underlying mechanism of two-quasiparticle excitations in the doubly midshell region is discussed in comparison with the deformed QRPA and multi-quasiparticle calculations. In $^{169}$Dy, the B(E2) value for the transition de-exciting the previously unreported Kπ=(1/2−) isomeric state at 166 keV to the Kπ=(5/2−) ground state is approximately two orders of magnitude larger than the E2 strength for the corresponding isomeric-decay transition in the N=103 isotone $^{173}$Yb, suggesting the presence of a significant γ-vibrational admixture with a dominant neutron one-quasiparticle component in the isomeric state.