Two-proton knockout in neutron rich N=40 nuclei

Two-proton knockout from intermediate energy beams of neutron-rich nuclei impinging on light targets has been shown recently to be a direct reaction capable of producing neutron-rich residues and populating their excited states [1]. In an experiment carried out at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University this reaction was used to produce and study in-beam $\gamma$-spectroscopy of excited states up to spin 6$^{+}$ in N$\sim$40 isotopes of iron, $^{64,66,68}$Fe. So far, these are the heaviest nuclei produced by means of two-proton knockout. The study was motivated by the recently reported onset of deformation in N$\sim$40 Cr and Fe isotopes below $^{68}$Ni [2, 3]. In this contribution, the experimental technique, gamma spectra and inclusive one- and two-proton knockout cross sections will be presented and discussed. \newline (1) D. Bazin \emph{et al}., Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 012501 (2003) \newline (2) M. Hannawald \emph{et al}., Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 1391 (1999) \newline (3) O. Sorlin \emph{et al}., Eur. Phys. J. A 16, 55 (2003)