In-beam and decay properties of 180Tl

Nuclear structure studies of the proton-rich nucleus $^{180}$Tl were carried out in order to investigate the electron-capture delayed fission, which is a rare decay mode. This nucleus was produced with the symmetric $^{92}$Mo($^{89}$Y, 1n) reaction using a 375 MeV beam delivered by the ATLAS accelerator at Argonne National Laboratory. Prompt $\gamma$ rays were detected with the Gammasphere array. The evaporation residues were transported through the Fragment Mass Analyzer (FMA) and dispersed according to their mass-to- charge (m/q) ratio. A position-sensitive parallel grid avalanche counter (PGAC) at the FMA focal plane provided the m/q information and the time of arrival of the recoils. The recoils were subsequently implanted into a double-sided silicon strip detector (DSSD) located behind the PGAC, where fission and $\alpha$ decays were measured. The DSSD was surrounded by an array of four Ge Clover detectors, which were used to measure $\gamma$ rays following electron-capture decay of $^ {180}$Tl. Results from these studies will be presented.