The fusion-evaporation reaction Si28+Ca40 at 122 MeV beam energy was used to populate high-spin states in the odd-odd N=Z nucleus Ga62. With the combination of the Gammasphere spectrometer and the Microball CsI(Tl) charged-particle detector array the decay scheme of Ga62 was extended beyond 10 MeV excitation energy. The onset of band structures was observed. These high-spin rotational states are interpreted and classified by means of cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations.

The fusion-evaporation reaction S32+Si28 at 125 MeV beam energy was used to populate high-spin states in the semimagic N=28 nuclei Mn53 and Fe54. With a combination of the Gammasphere spectrometer and ancillary devices including the Microball CsI(Tl) array, extensive high-spin level schemes are derived. They exhibit rotational-like collective structures and competing single-particle excitations. The experimental results are compared with predictions from shell-model calculations, for which the inclusion of isopin-symmetry-breaking terms is found to improve the description. An interpretation of the high-spin states is put forward using cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations, indicative of contributions from collective excitations beyond some 8-MeV excitation energy and highlighting the importance of the g9/2 intruder orbital in this energy range.

The fusion-evaporation reaction Si28+Ca40 at 122 MeV beam energy was used to populate excited states in the N=Z+1 nucleus Ga63. With the combination of the Gammasphere spectrometer and the Microball CsI(Tl) charged-particle detector array, the level scheme of Ga63 was extended by more than a factor of two in terms of number of γ-ray transitions and excited states, excitation energy (Ex>30MeV), and angular momentum (I>30ℏ). Nine regular sequences of states were newly established in the high-spin part of the level scheme. The majority of these rotational band structures could be connected to the previously known part of the level scheme by high-energy γ-ray transitions in the energy range Eγ=4-6MeV. Low-spin states were assessed by shell-model calculations. The high-spin rotational bands were interpreted and classified by means of cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations.

The fusion-evaporation reaction at 125-MeV beam energy was used to populate excited states in . Combining the Gammasphere spectrometer with ancillary devices including the Microball CsI(Tl) array and a shell of neutron detectors, a comprehensive level scheme could be derived. The experimental results are compared with theoretical results from shell-model calculations. Taking into account isospin-symmetry breaking terms is found to considerably improve the shell-model description for . This motivated a predictive case study of near-yrast states in the mirror nucleus .

The energy levels and γ-ray decay scheme of the positive-parity states in the Tz=12 nucleus As67 have been studied by using the Ca40(Ar36,2αp)As67 reaction at a beam energy of 145 MeV. Two new band structures have been identified which can be connected to the previously known levels. The results for these bands are compared with configuration-dependent cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations. The good level of agreement between theory and experiment suggests that these structures can be interpreted in terms of configurations that involve three g92 particles and that both possess noncollective terminating states.

The surrogate ratio technique is described. New results for neutron induced fission cross sections on actinide nuclei, obtained using this technique are presented. The results benchmark the surrogate ratio technique and indicate that the method is accurate to within 5% over a wide energy range. New results for internal conversion coefficients in triaxial strongly deformed bands in 167Lu are also presented.

Despite the more than 1 order of magnitude difference between the measured dipole moments in ^{144}Ba and ^{146}Ba, the octupole correlations in ^{146}Ba are found to be as strong as those in ^{144}Ba with a similarly large value of B(E3;3^{-}→0^{+}) determined as 48(+21-29)  W.u. The new results not only establish unambiguously the presence of a region of octupole deformation centered on these neutron-rich Ba isotopes, but also manifest the dependence of the electric dipole moments on the occupancy of different neutron orbitals in nuclei with enhanced octupole strength, as revealed by fully microscopic calculations.

A highly-deformed rotational band has been identified in the N = Z nucleus 36Ar. At high spin the band is observed to its presumed termination at Iπ = 16+, while at low spin it has been firmly linked to previously known states in 36Ar. Spins, parities, and absolute excitation energies have thus been determined throughout the band. Lifetime measurements establish a large low-spin quadrupole deformation (β2 = 0.46 ±0.03) and indicate a decreasing collectivity as the band termination is approached. With effectively complete spectroscopic information and a valence space large enough for significant collectivity to develop, yet small enough to be meaningfully approached from the shell model perspective, this rotational band in 36Ar provides many exciting opportunities to test and compare complementary models of collective motion in nuclei.

In recent models, the neutron-rich Ni isotopes around N=40 are predicted to exhibit multiple low-energy excited 0+ states attributed to neutron and proton excitations across both the N=40 and Z=28 shell gaps. In Ni68, the three observed 0+ states have been interpreted in terms of triple shape coexistence between spherical, oblate, and prolate deformed shapes. In the present work a new (02+) state at an energy of 1567 keV has been discovered in Ni70 by using β-delayed, γ-ray spectroscopy following the decay of Co70. The precipitous drop in the energy of the prolate-deformed 0+ level between Ni68 and Ni70 with the addition of two neutrons compares favorably with results of Monte Carlo shell-model calculations carried out in the large fpg9/2d5/2 model space, which predict a 02+ state at 1525 keV in Ni70. The result extends the shape-coexistence picture in the region to Ni70 and confirms the importance of the role of the tensor component of the monopole interaction in describing the structure of neutron-rich nuclei.

The products of the Tl203,205(Ti50,2n) fusion-evaporation reactions were studied using the recently commissioned Argonne Gas-Filled Analyzer at Argonne National Laboratory. Two α-decay activities with energies of 9210(19) and 9246(19) keV and half-lives of 42-14+42 and 24.4-4.5+7.0 ms were observed which were followed by the known α decays of Md247 and Es243. They are interpreted as originating from the 1/2-[521] and 7/2-[514] single-proton Nilsson states in the hitherto unknown isotope Lr251. From the measured Qα values the 1/2- level was placed 117(27) keV above the 7/2- level in Lr251 in contrast to Lr255 where the 1/2- level is the lowest. Also, the α decay of Lr253 was studied in more detail and a new α line at 8660(20) keV was found and a new half-life value of 2.46(32) s for an isomeric state in Lr253 was measured. The Lr251,253,255Qα values were compared with predictions of various mass models. The relative energies of the 1/2-[521] and 7/2-[514] single-proton Nilsson states in Lr251,253,255 isotopes were compared with results of the cranking shell model with pairing treated using the particle-number-conserving method. The level separation and, in particular, the level order change between Lr251 and Lr255 was reproduced only when the hexacontetrapole deformation 6 was included in the calculations.