Systematic trends in the level structure of neutron rich nuclei

The empirical systematic low energy properties of very neutron rich isotopes of Cd, In and Sn are discussed. This region of the nuclear chart comprises many nuclei whose β-decays are dominated by a strong transition to some low lying level in the daughter nucleus, having a relatively simple structure in terms of the shell model. The observed regularities suggest that simple empirical predictions can be made regarding the main features of the decays of unknown or little known nuclei. The decay of 130Cd is discussed as an example of such predictions. A very brief discussion of fast first forbidden β-decays is also made. (author)