Gamma-ray Spectroscopy of Core-excited States in 51Mn

The level scheme of Mn-51 has been investigated using the Si-28(S-32 2alpha1p)Mn-51 fusion-evaporation reaction at 125 MeV beam energy. The gamma rays were detected in the Ge-detector array Gammasphere, which was coupled to the 4pi-charged-particle detector Microball and the Neutron Shell for the coincident detection of evaporated particles. Over 100 new gamma-ray transitions connecting some 50 excited states have been identified. Most of the states are built on particle-hole excitations across the shell gaps at particle number N=Z=28. The rich experimental data allows for a 'comprehensive comparison of core-excited states with results from large-scale shell-model calculations, which are known to provide excellent predictions for the lower-lying yrast and near-yrast levels in 1f(7/2) nuclei. (Less)