Shell model study of the isobaric chains A=50, A=51 and A=52

Shell-model calculations in the full pf-shell are carried out for the A = 5 0, 51 and 52 isobars. The most frequently used effective interactions for t he pf-shell, KB3 and FPD6 are revisited and their behaviour at the N = 28 a nd Z = 28 closures examined. Cures to their - relatively minor - defaults a re proposed, and a new mass-dependent version called KB3G is released. Ener gy spectra, electromagnetic transitions and moments as well as beta decay p roperties are computed and compared with the experiment and with the result s of the earlier interactions. A high-quality description is achieved. Othe r miscellaneous topics are addressed: the Coulomb energy differences of the yrast states of the mirror pair Mn-51-Fe-51 and the systematics of the mag netic moments of the N = 28 isotones. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All ri ghts reserved.