Lifetime measurements in neutron-rich Mn isotopes

The observation of a sudden increase in collective behavior along neutron-rich even-even chromium and iron isotopes toward N=40 triggered several studies in recent years. Within the shell-model this sudden increase can only be reproduced by choosing an expanded valence space which allows excitations beyond N=40 and into the g_9/2 and d_5/2 orbitals. Less attention has been spent on neighboring odd-mass manganese isotopes with Z=25, although they are able to provide complementary sensitivity to state-of-the-art (shell model) interactions. Within this talk we will present lifetimes of low-lying excited states in ^59,61,63Mn, which were deduced from a recoil distance Doppler-shift measurement. These isotopes were produced in side reactions of an experiment whose central aim was the determination of level-lifetimes in ^58,60,62Cr.