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The neutron-rich dysprosium isotopes 168Dy102 and 169Dy103 have been investigated using the EURICA γ-ray spectrometer, following production via in-flight fission of a high-intensity uranium beam in conjunction with isotope separation through the BigRIPS separator at RIBF in RIKEN Nishina Center. For 168Dy, a previously unreported isomer with a half-life of 0.57(7) μs has been identified at an excitation energy of 1378 keV, and its presence affirmed independently using γ-γ-γ coincidence data taken with Gammasphere via two-proton transfer from an enriched 170Er target performed at Argonne National Laboratory. This isomer is assigned Jπ=Kπ=(4−) based on the measured transition strengths, decay patterns, and the energy systematics for two-quasiparticle states in N=102 isotones. The underlying mechanism of two-quasiparticle excitations in the doubly midshell region is discussed in comparison with the deformed QRPA and multi-quasiparticle calculations. In 169Dy, the B(E2) value for the transition de-exciting the previously unreported Kπ=(1/2−) isomeric state at 166 keV to the Kπ=(5/2−) ground state is approximately two orders of magnitude larger than the E2 strength for the corresponding isomeric-decay transition in the N=103 isotone 173Yb, suggesting the presence of a significant γ-vibrational admixture with a dominant neutron one-quasiparticle component in the isomeric state.

We report for the first time two distinctive features in the odd–odd nucleus 120I: a pair of doublet bands and a high-spin isomer built on the πh11/2νh11/2 configuration. For producing the excited states of 120I, a fusion-evaporation reaction 118Sn(6Li, 4n) at E=lab48 MeV was employed. The beam was provided by the 14UD tandem accelerator of the Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility at the Australian National University. The observed doublet structure built on the positive-parity states is the first case and unique in isotopes with Z=53. The emerging properties are indicative of the known chiral characteristics, leading to a doubling of states for the πh11/2νh11/2 configuration. In contrast, the high-spin isomer with a half-life of 49(2) ns at spin-parity Jπ=25+ can be explained in terms of a noncollective oblate structure with the full alignment of six valence nucleons outside the 114Sn core: three protons (g7/2)1(d5/2)1(h11/2)1 and three neutrons (h11/2)3. This is an outstanding case that reveals a pure single-particle structure consisting of equal numbers of valence protons and neutrons outside the semi-double shell closure of 114Sn with Z=50 and N=64. Keywords: Iodine, Isomer, Chiral-like pair band, In-beam γ-ray spectroscopy

A number of 3-quasiparticle isomers have been found and characterised in the odd-mass, neutron-rich, 187Re, 189Re and 191Re nuclei, the latter being four neutrons beyond stability. The decay of the isomers populates states in the rotational bands built upon the 9/2−[514] Nilsson orbital. These bands exhibit a degree of signature splitting that increases with neutron number. This splitting taken together with measurements of the M1/E2 mixing ratios and with the changes observed in the energy of the gamma-vibrational band coupled to the 9/2−[514] state, suggests an increase in triaxiality, with γ values of 5°, 18° and 25° deduced in the framework of a particle-rotor model.

The single closed-neutron-shell, one proton–hole nucleus 207Tl was populated in deep-inelastic collisions of a 208Pb beam with a 208Pb target. The yrast and near-yrast level scheme has been established up to high excitation energy, comprising an octupole phonon state and a large number of core excited states. Based on shell-model calculations, all observed single core excitations were established to arise from the breaking of the N=126 neutron core. While the shell-model calculations correctly predict the ordering of these states, their energies are compressed at high spins. It is concluded that this compression is an intrinsic feature of shell-model calculations using two-body matrix elements developed for the description of two-body states, and that multiple core excitations need to be considered in order to accurately calculate the energy spacings of the predominantly three-quasiparticle states.