Half-lives of the odd-odd N = Z nuclei ⁷⁸Y, ⁸²Nb, ⁸⁶Tc

The heavy odd-odd N = Znuclei ⁷⁴Rb, ⁷⁸Y, ⁸²Nb, ⁸⁶Tc have been produced at GANIL by fragmentation of a 60 MeV/u ⁹²Mo beam on a natural nickel target. The species of interest were selected and identified by their energy loss in a silicon detector and their time of flight through the LISE spectrometer. The ions were implanted in a silicon strip detector in which their β-decay was observed. The measured half-lives for ⁷⁸Y, ⁸²Nb, ⁸⁶Tc correspond to superallowed transitions and may sign Fermi transitions on the basis of log f t values. Our experimental results pave the way for further and more precise measurements of these nuclei.