Discovery of a new isomeric state in 68Ni: Evidence for a highly deformed proton intruder state

We report on the observation of a new isomeric state in Ni-68. We suggest that the newly observed state at 168(1) keV above the first 2(+) state is a pi(2p-2h) 0(+) state across the major Z = 28 shell gap. Comparison with theoretical calculations indicates a pure proton intruder configuration and the deduced low-lying structure of this key nucleus suggests a possible shape coexistence scenario involving a highly deformed state.