First spectroscopy of 61Ti and the transition to the Island of Inversion at N = 40

Isomeric states in 59,61Ti have been populated in the projectile fragmentation of a 345 AMeV 238U beam at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. The decay lifetimes and delayed γ-ray transitions were measured with the EURICA array. Besides the known isomeric state in 59Ti, two isomeric states in 61Ti are observed for the first time. Based on the measured lifetimes, transition multipolarities as well as tentative spins and parities are assigned. Large-scale shell model calculations based on the modified LNPS interaction show that both 59Ti and 61Ti belong to the Island of Inversion at N=40 with ground state configurations dominated by particle-hole excitations to the g9/2 and d5/2 orbits. Keywords: Radioactive beams, Gamma-ray spectroscopy, Isomeric decay, Shell evolution, Island of Inversion