Electron-capture rates in the medium-mass nuclei $^{48}$Ti, $^{56}$Ni, $^{60}$Zn, and $^{64}$Ge within deformed quasiparticle random-phase approximation

Electron-capture (EC) rates in medium-mass nuclei are governed by Gamow--Teller (GT) strength distributions and provide important input for stellar weak-interaction processes. In this work, we investigate the deformation dependence of the GT strengths and stellar EC rates in selected medium-mass nuclei in and near the $pf$ shell, namely $^{48}$Ti, $^{56}$Ni, $^{60}$Zn, and $^{64}$Ge. The GT$^{(+/-)}$ strength distributions are calculated in the deformed quasiparticle random-phase approximation (DQRPA) on a single-particle basis obtained by the Skyrme SGII interaction, while the stellar EC rates are evaluated from the resulting $B(\mathrm{GT}^+)$ strengths using the standard phase-space formalism. The potential-energy curves are used to identify shape softness and possible shape coexistence in the nuclei under consideration. We find that deformation strongly modifies the GT strength distributions by changing the centroid energies, resonance splitting, and fragmentation patterns. In particular, a pronounced shape dependence of the GT$^{(+/-)}$ strengths is found for $^{56}$Ni and $^{64}$Ge, whereas $^{60}$Zn is characterized by a favoured prolate minimum and $^{48}$Ti exhibits a soft near-spherical/prolate landscape. By contrast, the corresponding EC rates are generally much less sensitive to deformation than the differential GT response itself, except at low temperatures and low densities where the low-lying GT$^+$ strength becomes decisive because of the negative EC $Q$-value in the electron phase space. Available charge-exchange data for $^{48}$Ti and $^{56}$Ni are used as benchmarks of the model predictions. The present results provide microscopic constraints on the role of deformation and shape coexistence in stellar weak rates for selected medium-mass nuclei, including proton-rich isotopes near the $N = Z$ line.