A walk along the proton drip-line by $\beta$-decay spectroscopy

Abstract

During the last decade we have carried out a systematic study of the $\beta$ decay of neutron-deficient nuclei, providing rich spectroscopic information of importance for both nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics. We present an overview of the most relevant achievements, including the discovery of a new exotic decay mode in the fp-shell, the $\beta$-delayed $\gamma$-proton decay in $^{56}$Zn, the first observation of the 2$^+$ isomer in $^{52}$Co and the latest results on the heavier systems $^{60}$Ge and $^{62}$Ge. We also report on our deduced mass excesses in comparison with systematics and a recent measurement. Finally, we summarise our results on the half-lives of $T_z=$ -1/2, -1 and -2 neutron-deficient nuclides, and analyse their trend.