Identification of gamma rays from Au-172 and alpha decays of Au-172, Ir-168, and Re-164

The low-lying structures of the extremely neutron-deficient nuclei 106Te, 107Te, 110Xe, 170Ir and 172Au have been investigated experimentally. Prompt gamma rays emitted in fusion-evaporation reactions were detected by the Jurogam HPGe array. The gamma rays were assigned to specific reaction channels using the recoil-decay tagging technique provided by the gas-filled separator RITU and the GREAT focal-plane spectrometer. The experimental set-up and the technique used to extract the information from the experimental data are described in detail. Results were interpreted in terms of the nuclear shell model and Total Routhian Surface calculations. In addition, decay studies on 170Ir, 172Au and 164Re led to the discovery of new alpha-decay branches in these nuclei.