| Abstract: | The nucleus ⁵⁷Cu plays an important role in several areas of nuclear physics, including Coulomb displacement calculations and nuclear astrophysics. Recent work concerning ⁵⁷Cu has revealed details about this nucleus. The mass excess has been determined to within 15 keV. An excited state has been found at 1.04±O.04 MeV, although its spin and parity has not been determined. Rough measurements have been made of the half-life (⁵⁷Cu decays to ⁵⁷Ni by β -decay) and of the branching ratios to the ⁵⁷Ni ground and 1.113 MeV 2P₁/₂- states. The objective of this project is to determine more about the exited states of ⁵⁷Cu using the Momentum Achromat Recoil spectrometer (MARS) located at the Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute. Using γ -ray detectors at the target chamber with a coincidence circuit to identify ⁵⁷Cu at the focal-plane, we will attempt to locate the 2P₁/₂- state which plays a crucial role in determining the nuclear synthesis of proton-rich elements more massive than ⁵⁶Ni. |
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