Isomers as a probe of shell evolution in exotic nuclei

The formation of isomeric states in atomic nuclei is sensitive to the underlying shell structure, which alters in accordance with variation in the number of constituent protons or neutrons and with changes of major configurations through particle–hole excitations inside one nucleus. In this article, I will overview some of the effects of the monopole component of proton–neutron interactions on the energy and decay properties of characteristic isomers in neutron-rich N=80 nuclei below the doubly magic nucleus ^132 Sn. I will also discuss the presence of a deformed sub-shell closure at N=104 and its impact on the emergence of K isomers in neutron-rich dysprosium isotopes around double midshell.