Observation of parity doublets in 221Ra

High-spin states in 221Ra were studied by the 210Pb(14C, 3n) reaction at beam energies between 61 and 75 MeV. Excitation functions, multiplicity distributions and γγ-coincidences were measured. The level scheme of 221Ra is found to be composed of two bands of alternating parity, characterized by the simplex numbers s = +i and s = −i, which could be followed up to I π = 27 2 + and I π = 27 2 − , respectively. The presence of parity doublets as well as enhanced E1 transactions suggests a reflection-asymmetric shape for this nucleus.