Two-proton Radioactivity: the Interesting Case of \(^{67}\)Kr and Further Studies

Abstract

We report on the observation of 67Kr that has been produced in an experiment
\nperformed at the RIKEN/BigRIPS facility. The two-proton decay
\nof 67Kr has been evidenced and this nucleus is thus the fourth observed long
\nlived ground-state two-proton emitter, after 45Fe, 48Ni and 54Zn. In addition,
\nthe decay of several isotopes in the mass region has been investigated.
\nWhile for previous cases of two-proton radioactivity, the theoretical models
\ncould reproduce the measured data, this is not the case anymore for
\n67Kr. Two interpretations have been proposed to explain this discrepancy:
\na transition between real two-proton and sequential decay or the influence
\nof deformation. These hypotheses will be tested in future experiments by
\nmeasuring the angular and energy correlations of the emitted protons