Spectroscopy of neutron-rich Dy-168,Dy-170: Yrast band evolution close to the NpNn valence maximum

The yrast sequence of the neutron-rich dysprosium isotope Dy-168 has been studied using multinucleon transfer reactions following collisions between a 460-MeV Se-82 beam and an Er-170 target. The reaction products were identified using the PRISMA magnetic spectrometer and the gamma rays detected using the CLARA HPGe-detector array. The 2(+) and 4(+) members of the previously measured ground-state rotational band of Dy-168 have been confirmed and the yrast band extended up to 10(+). A tentative candidate for the 4(+) -> 2(+) transition in Dy-170 was also identified. The data on these nuclei and on the lighter even-even dysprosium isotopes are interpreted in terms of total Routhian surface calculations and the evolution of collectivity in the vicinity of the proton-neutron valence product maximum is discussed.
This work was partially supported by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme through I3-EURONS contract RII3-CT-2004-506065, the Swedish Research Council, EPSRC/STFC (UK) and U.S. DOE grant No. DE-FG02-91ER40609.