NUCLIDES OF ASTROPHYSICS INTEREST WITH MASS NUMBERS CLOSE TO A~80 PNPI participants of the IGISOL/JYFLTRAP collaboration

Nuclei close to the N = Z line in the region near A = 80 play a special role in nuclear astrophysics since the rapid proton (rp) capture process is passing right through them (see Fig. 1). The rp-process, a sequence of rapid proton captures and β-decays, proceeds along the N = Z line up to Ni and it can continue ending in a SnSbTe cycle either in explosive X-ray bursts or in a steady state burning (e.g., in X-ray pulsars). At higher Z values, where proton capture rates become smaller, the reaction path can be broader and shifted by about one or two mass units towards the β-stability line. This shift can be even greater for the steady state burning model. The properties of neutron-deficient nuclei involved in the rp-process, especially masses and β-decay half-lives, are needed to perform calculations of rp-process nuclear reaction network. These simulations are crucial for the understanding of the energy generation and fuel consumption in the rp-process and its potential contribution to galactic nucleosynthesis. The discovery of new long-lived isomeric states in neutron-deficient nuclei is of special interest. Low-lying excited states can therefore alter proton capture rates and β/EC decay rates considerably. This is particularly true for isomeric states. Such states typically have different properties than the ground state and therefore potentially different capture and decay rates.