Nuclear spectroscopy with fast exotic beams

Results on the study of quadrupole collectivity in 54,56,58Ni and 52Fe using intermediate-energy Coulomb excitation are summarized and discussed in the context of the N = Z = 28 doubly-magic shell closure. A complementary experimental approach sensitive to the single-particle structure of exotic nuclei, one-neutron knockout at intermediate beam energies, has been applied to the proton-rich N = 16 isotones 34Ar, 33Cl and 32S as well as to 32Ar where the knockout residue 31Ar is located at the proton drip line. The reduction of single-particle strength compared to USD shell-model calculations is discussed in the framework of correlation effects beyond the effective-interaction theory employed in the shell-model approach.