Coulomb Excitation of the N = 50 nucleus 80Zn

Neutron rich Zinc isotopes, including the N=50 nucleus Zn-80, were produced and post-accelerated at the Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility REX-ISOLDE (CERN). Low-energy Coulomb excitation was induced on these isotopes after post-acceleration, yielding B(E2) strengths to the first excited 2(+) states. For the first time, an excited state in Zn-80 was observed and the 2(1)(+) state in Zn-78 was established. The measured B(E2,2(1)(+) -> 0(1)(+)) values are compared to two sets of large scale shell model calculations. Both calculations reproduce the observed B(E2) systematics for the full Zinc isotopic chain. The results for N=50 isotones indicate a good N=50 shell closure and a strong Z=28 proton core polarization. The new results serve as benchmarks to establish theoretical models, predicting the nuclear properties of the doubly magic nucleus Ni-78.