β decay and isomeric properties of neutron-rich Ca and Sc isotopes

The isomeric and beta-decay properties of neutron-rich Sc53-57 and Ca-53,Ca-54 nuclei near neutron number N = 32 are reported, and the low-energy level schemes of Sc-53,Sc-54,Sc-56 and Ti53-57 are presented. The low-energy level structures of the Sc-21 isotopes are discussed in terms of the coupling of the valence 1f(7/2) proton to states in the corresponding Ca-20 cores. Implications with respect to the robustness of the N = 32 subshell closure are discussed, as well as the repercussions for a possible N = 34 subshell closure.