β-Decay study of the rp-process nucleus ⁹⁶Cd

The half-life of the even-even N=Z nucleus ⁹⁶Cd, one of the last waiting points along the reaction path of the rp-process, has been measured for the first time at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, and was found to be 1.03_-0.21^+0.24 s. The ⁹⁶Cd nuclei were produced by fragmentation of a 120 MeV/u ¹¹²Sn primary beam on a Be target and selected with the A1900 Fragment Separator. Further purification was achieved using the recently commissioned Radio Frequency Fragment Separator system. The fragments of interest were unambiguously identified and their β decay was measured with the NSCL Beta Counting System (BCS) in conjunction with the Segmented Germanium Array (SeGA). Implantations were correlated with their subsequent decays on an event by event basis, and prompt and β-delayed γ-rays from the decay of implanted nuclei were identified, if present. The implications of the measured half-life of ⁹⁶Cd on the calculated rp-process final abundances are discussed.