Beta-delayed proton emission of the drip-line nucleus ⁷³Rb

Nuclei near the drip lines play a key role in our understanding of astrophysics, weak-interaction physics, and nuclear structure. Weakly-bound or unbound nuclei at the rp-process waiting points, such as the nucleus ⁷³Rb, are important for constraining properties of type I X-ray bursts. To probe the extent by which ⁷³Rb is proton unbound and thereby constrain the reaction flow out of the ⁷²Kr waiting point, we have performed an implant-decay experiment designed to measure β-delayed protons from states in ⁷³Rb fed in the decay of ⁷³Sr. The experiment was conducted at NSCL where a ⁹²Mo primary beam was used to access neutron-deficient isotopes. Nuclei were identified and implanted into a silicon DSSD surrounded by a HPGe array. The secondary beam was purified with the RF Fragment Separator, enabling the detection and correlation of ⁷³Rb β-delayed protons. Details of the experimental setup and decay results will be presented.