Probing the sustainability of the N=82 and Z=50 shell closures for neutron-rich nuclides: Decay of120Rh75 to levels of 120Pd74

The low-energy levels of 120Pd74 were populated by β decay of 120Rh75, which was produced via projectile fragmentation of a 136Xe82 beam at 120 MeV/nucleon. Delayed β-gated γ rays with energies of 438 and 618 keV were observed in coincidence with 120Rh75 fragments and assigned to the 21+ → 0+ and 41+ → 21+ transitions, respectively, in 120Pd74. Isomeric γ-ray transitions are also reported for 120Rh75 and 126Cd78. The low-energy structure of 120Pd74 shows remarkable similarity to those of the isotopic 108Pd62 and isotonic 128Xe74 suggesting that these nuclides share the same Z=50 and N=82 closed shell structures with neutron-rich 120Pd 74