Competition between allowed and first-forbidden decay; The Case of Hg Tl

Carroll, R. J.*; Podolyk, Zs.*; Berry, T.*; Grawe, H.*; Alexander, T.*; Andreyev, A. N.; Ansari, S.*; Borge, M. J. G.*; Brunet, M.*; Creswell, J. R.*; Fraile, L. M.*; Fahlander, C.*; 52 of others*

The decay of Hg into the one-proton hole, one neutron-particle Tl nucleus was investigated at CERN-ISOLDE. Shell-model calculations describe well the level scheme deduced, validating the proton-neutron interactions used, with implications for the whole of the , quadrant of neutron-rich nuclei. While both negative and positive parity states with spin 0 and 1 are expected within the window, only three negative parity states are populated directly in the decay. The data provide a unique test of the competition between allowed Gamow-Teller and Fermi, and first-forbidden decays, essential for the understanding of the nucleosynthesis of heavy nuclei in the rapid neutron capture process. Furthermore, the observation of the parity changing decay where the daughter state is core excited is unique, and can provide information on mesonic corrections of effective operators.