Decay of neutron-rich Mn nuclides and deformation of heavy Fe isotopes

The use of chemically selective laser ionization combined with {beta} -delayed neutron counting at CERN/ISOLDE has permitted identification and half-life measurements for 623-ms {sup 61}Mn up through 14-ms {sup 69}Mn . The measured half-lives are found to be significantly longer near N=40 than the values calculated with a quasiparticle random-phase-approximation shell model. Gamma-ray singles and coincidence spectroscopy has been performed for {sup 64,66}Mn decays to levels of {sup 64,66}Fe , revealing a significant drop in the energy of the first 2{sup +} state in these nuclides that suggests an unanticipated increase in collectivity near N=40 . {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society }