Yrast superdeformed band in 59Cu

High-spin states in 59Cu were populated using the fusion-evaporation reactions 28Si+40Ca at a beam energy of 125 MeV and 36Ar+28Si at a beam energy of 143 MeV. The Gammasphere array in conjunction with ancillary detector systems allowed for the identification of a superdeformed rotational band in 59Cu, which was firmly linked to low-spin yrast states. Using directional correlations of oriented states, a spin-parity assignment of Iπ=25/2+ to the band head was possible. The average quadrupole moment of the band is measured to be Qt=(2.24±0.40) e b. The characteristics of the band are compared to neighboring nuclei and predictions of different mean-field theories.