Shape coexistence in 67Co, 66,68,70,72Ni, and 71Cu

Analyses of data from both deep inelastic reactions at Argonne National Laboratory and single- and multiple-particle knockout reactions at Michigan State University revealed new γ-ray transitions in even-even 66,68,70,72Ni38,40,42,44 and in 67Co40 that provide strong evidence for multiple shape coexistence at N = 38 and 40 and deep prolate minima in 70Ni42 and isotonic 71Cu42. A new transition at 642 keV is proposed for 66Ni as the prolate 2+ to 0+ transition. Two new transitions in 72Ni at 915 and 1225 keV were identified in the knock-out reaction study and could represent de-population of prolate states. Taken together with recent theoretical work using the Monte Carlo shell model, a well defined region of shape coexistence can be seen existing precisely between 38 ≤ N ≤44 for Co, Ni, and Cu nuclei.