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This thesis contains two articles, in the following denoted by I and II, and an introduction to them. In Chapter 1, I present the theoretical models of nuclear structure. In Chapter 2, I introduce the basic ideas about the density functional theory (DFT) and self-consistent mean-field (SCMF) calculations. In Chapter 3, I give the formulae for the uncertainty propagation, which is the error analysis method used in article I. As a proper tool to survey the predictive power of theoretical models, the error analysis now has become more and more widely used. By analyzing the propagation of uncertainties, one tries to find out the e ectiveness of the calculation with a given parameter set obtained from optimization. In Chapter 4, I present the theoretical framework of the Lipkin method used in article II. This method can be considered as an approximation of the variation-after-projection method. In Chapter 6, I brie y review the main results of articles I and II. In the Appendices, I give some useful details and derivations.

The installation of an ion-beam cooler-buncher at the ISOLDE, CERN facility has provided increased sensitivity for collinear laser spectroscopy experiments. A migration of single-particle states in gallium and in copper isotopes has been investigated through extensive measurements of ground state and isomeric state hyperfine structures. Lying beyond the N = 50 shell closure, 82Ga is the most exotic nucleus in the region to have been studied by optical methods, and is reported here for the first time. ispartof: pages:012071-6 ispartof: Journal of Physics: Conference Series vol:381 issue:1 pages:012071-6 ispartof: Rutherford Centennial Conference on Nuclear Physics location:Manchester, UK date:8 Aug - 12 Aug 2011 status: published

During the years 2005-2010 the double-Penning-trap mass spectrometer JYFLTRAP has been used to measure the masses of 90 ground and 8 isomeric states of neutron-deficient nuclides with a typical precision of better than 10keV. The masses of 14 nuclides -- 84Zr , 88, 89Tc , 90-92Ru , 92-94Rh , 94, 95Pd , 106, 108, 110Sb -- have been experimentally determined for the first time. This article gives an overview on these measurements and their impact on the modeling of the astrophysical rp -process. peerReviewed

Penning-trap measurements on stable 92, 94-98, 100Mo isotopes have been performed with relative accuracy of \ensuremath1⋅10−8\ensuremath1⋅10−8 with the JYFLTRAP Penning-trap mass spectrometer by using 85Rb as a reference. The Mo isotopes have been found to be about 3keV more bound than given in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2003 (AME03). The results confirm that the discrepancy between the ISOLTRAP and JYFLTRAP data for 101-105Cd isotopes was due to an erroneous value in the AME03 for 96Mo used as a reference at JYFLTRAP. The measured frequency ratios of Mo isotopes have been used to update mass-excess values of 30 neutron-deficient nuclides measured at JYFLTRAP. peerReviewed

Atomic masses of the neutron-rich isotopes $^{121-128}$Cd, $^{129,131}$In, $^{130-135}$Sn, $^{131-136}$Sb, and $^{132-140}$Te have been measured with high precision (10 ppb) using the Penning trap mass spectrometer JYFLTRAP. Among these, the masses of four r-process nuclei $^{135}$Sn, $^{136}$Sb, and $^{139,140}$Te were measured for the first time. The data reveals a strong $N$=82 shell gap at $Z$=50 but indicates the importance of correlations for $Z>50$. An empirical neutron pairing gap expressed as the odd-even staggering of isotopic masses shows a strong quenching across $N$=82 for Sn, with the $Z$-dependence that is unexplainable by the current theoretical models., 4 Pages, 5 figures. Revised version which focuses on odd-even staggering

Mass measurements of fission products based on Penning-trap technique are reviewed in this article. More than 300 fission products have been measured with JYFLTRAP, ISOLTRAP, CPT, LEBIT and TITAN Penning traps with a typical precision of δm/m ≈ 10−7 − 10−8. In general, the results agree well with each other. The new data provide a valuable source of information and a challenge for the future development of theoretical mass models as well as for obtaining a deeper insight into microscopic properties of atomic nuclei as measured, for example, via key mass differentials. Shape transitions around N = 60, subshell closure at N = 40 and shell closures at N = 50 and N = 82 have been investigated in the trend of the precisely measured two-neutron separation energies. The evolution of two-neutron and two-proton shell gaps has been studied and compared to theoretical models for Z = 50, N = 50 and N = 82. Proton–neutron pairing effect in separation energies and odd–even staggering of masses are shortly discussed. In addition to nuclear structure, many experiments have been motivated by nuclear astrophysics. peerReviewed

This article reviews the decay studies of neutron-deficient nuclei within the mass region \ensuremathA=56--100 performed at the Ion-Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) facility in the University of Jyväskylä over last 25 years. Development from He-jet measurements to on-line mass spectrometry, and eventually to atomic mass measurements and post-trap spectroscopy at IGISOL, has yielded studies of around 100 neutron-deficient nuclei over the years. The studies form a solid foundation to astrophysical rp -process path modelling. The focus is on isomers studied either via spectroscopy or via Penning-trap mass measurements. The review is complemented with recent results on the ground and isomeric states of 90Tc . The excitation energy of the low-spin isomer in 90Tc has been measured as \ensuremathEx=144.1(17) keV with JYFLTRAP double Penning trap and the ground state of 90Tc has been confirmed to be the (8+) state with a half-life of \ensuremathT1/2=49.2(4) s. Finally, the mass-excess results for the spin-gap isomers 53Co m and 95Pd m and implications from the JYFLTRAP mass measurements for the (21+) isomer in 94Ag are discussed. peerReviewed

Monoisotopic samples of ${}^{109}$Mo nuclei, produced in the deuteron-induced fission of ${}^{238}$U and separated using the IGISOL mass separator coupled to a Penning trap, were used to perform $\ensuremath{\beta}$- and $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-coincidence spectroscopy of ${}^{109}$Tc. Spin and parity 5/2${}^{+}$ for the ground state of ${}^{109}$Mo, proposed earlier, are supported in the present work. Three new low-energy levels observed in ${}^{109}$Tc are interpreted as bandheads of the $\ensuremath{\pi}3/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$[301], $\ensuremath{\pi}5/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$[303], and $\ensuremath{\pi}1/{2}^{+}$[431] configurations, respectively. A further three levels observed around 0.4 MeV are interpreted as $K=1/2$ triaxial excitations. A similar interpretation is proposed for an analogous set of three levels observed in ${}^{107}$Tc in another ${\ensuremath{\beta}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ decay work. The systematics of these excitations breaks down in ${}^{111}$Tc, most likely due to a transition from prolate to oblate deformation. An excitation at 745.0 keV in ${}^{109}$Tc and 850.7 keV in ${}^{107}$Tc is interpreted as the $\ensuremath{\pi}$7/2${}^{+}$[413] configuration. Quasiparticle-rotor model calculations support the proposed interpretations.

In this article a comprehensive description and performance of the double Penning-trap setup JYFLTRAP will be detailed. The setup is designed for atomic mass measurements of both radioactive and stable ions and additionally serves as a very high-resolution mass separator. The setup is coupled to the IGISOL facility at the accelerator laboratory of the University of Jyväskylä. The trap has been online since 2003 and it was shut down in the summer of 2010 for relocation to the upgraded IGISOL facility. Numerous atomic mass and decay energy measurements have been performed using the time-of-flight ion-cyclotron resonance technique. The trap has also been used in several decay spectroscopy experiments as a high-resolution mass filter. peerReviewed

The excited levels of 115Ag have been studied via the beta decay of 115Pd and 115Pdm. The beta-decay schemes for both states have been considerably extended, especially the scheme following the decay of 115Pdm which was practically unknown before this work. Transition intensities and log10 f t values are reported, which have been missing in the literature. A set of levels around 2 MeV has been found to be strongly populated by the beta decay of the ground state of 115Pd and is suggested to have a three-quasiparticle nature. The properties of excited levels have been compared with the level systematics of lighter neutron-rich silver isotopes, and new spin assignments as well as identification of Nilsson states in 115Ag have been made. peerReviewed

Recent antisymmetrized molecular dynamics (AMD) calculations for 28Si suggest the presence of a superdeformed (SD) band with a dominant 24Mg + α clustering for its configuration, with firm predictions for its location and associated moment of inertia. This motivates a review of the experimental results reported in the literature with a particular focus on 24Mg(α,γ ) studies, as well as on α-like heavy-ion transfer reactions such as 12C(20Ne,α) 28Si. Combining this information for the first time leads to a set of candidate SD states whose properties point to their α-cluster structure and strong associated deformation. Analysis of data from Gammasphere allows the electromagnetic decay of these candidate states to be probed and reveals further supporting evidence for such a structure. This paper appraises this body of information and finds the evidence for an SD band is strong. peerReviewed

Collinear laser spectroscopy was performed on the 63,64,66,68−82Ga isotopes with neutron numbers from N = 32 to N = 51. These measurements were carried out at the ISOLDE radioactive ion beam facility at CERN. Here we present the nuclear mean-square charge radii extracted from the isotope shifts and, for the lighter isotopes, new spin and moment values. New ground-state nuclear spin and moments were extracted from the hyperfine spectra of 63,70Ga, measured on an atomic transition in the neutral atom. The ground-state spin of 63Ga is determined to be I = 3/2. Analysis of the trend in the change in mean-square charge radii of the gallium isotopes demonstrates that there is no evidence of anomalous charge radii behavior in gallium in the region of N = 32. peerReviewed

EMMA is a new experiment designed for cosmic-ray composition studies around the knee energy operating at the shallow depth underground in the Pyhäsalmi mine, Finland. The array has sufficient coverage and resolution to determine the multiplicity, the lateral density distribution and the arrival direction of high-energy muons on an event by event basis. Preliminary results on the muon multiplicity extracted using one detector station of the array are presented. peerReviewed

We investigated the superfluid properties of the inner crust of neutron stars, solving the Hartree-FockBogoliubov equations in spherical Wigner-Seitz cells. Using realistic two-body interactions in the pairing channel, we studied in detail the Cooper-pair and the pairing-field spatial properties, together with the effect of the proton clusters on the neutron pairing gap. Calculations with effective pairing interactions are also presented, showing significant discrepancies with the results obtained with realistic pairing forces. At variance with recent studies on finite nuclei, the neutron coherence length is found to depend on the strength of the pairing interaction, even inside the nucleus. We also show that the spherical Wigner-Seitz approximation breaks down in the innermost regions of the inner crust, already at baryonic densities ρb 8 × 10+13 g/cm3. peerReviewed

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The neutron-deficient nucleus At199 has been studied through γ-ray and electron spectroscopy, using the recoil-decay tagging technique. Two experiments were conducted, using a gas-filled recoil separator with a focal-plane spectrometer alone and together with a germanium-detector array at the target position. The resulting level scheme for At199 includes a new isomer with a half-life of 0.80(5) μs and a spin and parity of (29/2+). The 13/2+ isomer, which de-excites via an M2 transition to the 9/2− ground state, was measured to have a half-life of 70(20) ns. Our earlier version of the level scheme for At197 has been updated as well. peerReviewed