β-Decay Studies Close to the N=82 r-process Path

New half-lives for neutron-rich ruthenium, rhodium and palladium isotopes close to the r-process path along the N=82 closed shell have been measured at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. The studied isotopes are close to the critical A=118-126 mass region in the astrophysical r-process, where incorrect nuclear structure development towards the shell closure may have the most pronounced effect on the abundances of elements produced. Neutron-rich nuclei were produced by fragmentation of a 120-MeV per nucleon 136 Xe beam on Be and were separated by the A1900 fragment separator. The nuclei of interest were implanted into a double-sided Si strip detector at the center of the MSU β counting system. Charge states and fully- stripped isotopes were distinguished by a measurement of the total kinetic energy of each implant. Our measured half-lives will provide first clues on whether our understanding of nuclear structure evolution in this mass region is correct.