First observation of the β-delayed proton decay of ${}_{}{}^{52}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Ni}$

The isotope ${}_{}{}^{52}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Ni}$ has been produced by fragmentation of a ${}_{}{}^{58}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Ni}$ beam at 68 MeV/nucleon on a nickel target and separated using the LISE spectrometer at GANIL. We have measured the half-life of ${}_{}{}^{52}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Ni}$ and the energies of β-delayed protons emitted during the decay. Two proton lines have been observed at ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{p}}$=1.06±0.05 MeV and 1.34±0.06 MeV with branching ratios of 0.06±0.01 and 0.11±0.01, respectively. The measured half-life of ${}_{}{}^{52}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Ni}$ is ${\mathit{T}}_{1/2}$=38±5 ms. A partial decay scheme is proposed.