Decay Spectroscopy of {sup 45}Fe

In an experiment performed at the NSCL/MSU A1900 separator the decay of {sup 45}Fe was investigated in detail. Two-proton radioactivity channel was clearly identified and for the first time the correlations between two protons emitted from the nuclear ground state were determined. The comparison with a theoretical model indicates the genuine three-body character of this decay and sheds light on the shell structure of this exotic nucleus. The {beta} decay channels of {sup 45}Fe, followed by one-, two-, and three-proton emission, were also identified. The {beta}3p decay channel was observed for the first time. The half-life of {sup 45}Fe was found to be 2.6{+-}0.2 ms and the 2p decay branching ratio is 70{+-}4%. In the experiment a new type of gaseous detector has been applied in which a technique of digital imaging was used to record tracks of charged particles.