Structure of neutron-rich Zn74 from Cu74 decay and shell-model calculations for even-A Zn nuclei

The first information on excited states in neutron-rich /sup 74/Zn populated in the ..beta.. decay of /sup 74/Cu is presented. The /sup 74/Cu half-life was measured to be 1.59 +- 0.05 s. On the basis of ..gamma.. singles and coincidence measurements, a total of 19 ..gamma.. rays were placed in a level scheme for /sup 74/Zn with 10 excited states up to about 3 MeV. The low-lying level structure is satisfactorily reproduced by a shell-model calculation involving active protons in orbitals between the magic numbers 28 and 50 and neutrons filling the subshell between 38 and 50.