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Direct mass measurements of the low-spin 3/2(-) and high-spin 13/2(+) states in the neutron-deficient isotopes Po-195 and Po-197 were performed with the Penning-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE-CERN. These measurements allow the determination of the excitation energy of the isomeric state arising from the nu i(13/2) orbital in Po-195,Po-197. Additionally, the excitation energy of isomeric states of lead, radon, and radium isotopes in this region were obtained from alpha-decay chains. These excitation energies complete the knowledge of the energy systematics in the region and confirm that the 13/2(+) states remain isomeric, independent of the number of valence neutrons.

WOS: 000278933900003, The nuclides W-157 and Os-161 have been discovered ill reactions of Ni-58 ion beams with a Cd-106 target. The Os-161 alpha-decay energy and half-life were 6890 +/- 12 keV and 640 +/- 60 mu s. The daughter W-157 nuclei beta-decayed with a half-life of 275 +/- 40 ms, populating both low-lying alpha-decaying states in Ta-157, which is consistent with a 7/2(-) ground state in W-157. Fine structure observed in the alpha decay of Os-161 places the lowest excited state in W-157 with 1(pi) = 9/2(-) at 318 +/- 30 key. The branching ratio of 5.5(-2.2)(+3.1)% indicates that Os-161 also has a 7/2(-) ground state. Shell-model calculations analysing the effects of monopole shifts and a tensor force on the relative energies of 2f(7/2) and 1h(9/2) neutron states in N = 83 isotones are presented. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved., Jyvaskyla; United Kingdom Science and Technology Facilities Council; Swedish Natural Science Research Council; Academy of Finland [44875, 209430, 111965]; European Union [R113-CT-2004-506065, HPMT-CT-2001-00250]; Science and Technology Facilities Council [EP/C015266/1, EP/C015371/1, ST/G008671/1, ST/F012012/1, ST/J000108/1, EP/C543157/1, ST/G008620/1, ST/F012039/1], We thank the accelerator staff at Jyvaskyla for their excellent support and Paul Morrall from Daresbury Laboratory for making the targets. This work was supported by the United Kingdom Science and Technology Facilities Council; the Swedish Natural Science Research Council; the Academy of Finland through the Finnish Centre of Excellence Programme (project 44875 Nuclear and Condensed Matter Physics Programme at JYFL) and support for C.S. (contract 209430) and P.T.G. (contract 111965); the European Union Sixth Framework contract EURONS (R113-CT-2004-506065) and the European Union Marie Curie Programme (contract HPMT-CT-2001-00250).

The 1789 keV state in Mg-30 was identified as the first excited 0(+) state via its electric monopole (E0) transition to the ground state. The measured small value of rho(2)(E0,0(2)(+)-> 0(1)(+))=(26.2 +/- 7.5)x10(-3) implies within a two-level model a small mixing of competing configurations with largely different intrinsic quadrupole deformation near the neutron shell closure at N=20. Axially symmetric configuration mixing calculations identify the ground state of Mg-30 to be based on neutron configurations below the N=20 shell closure, while the excited 0(+) state mainly consists of two neutrons excited into the nu 1f(7/2) orbital. The experimental result represents the first case where an E0 back decay from a strongly deformed second to the normal deformed first nuclear potential minimum well has been unambiguously identified, thus directly proving shape coexistence at the borderline of the much-debated "island of inversion.