High-K States in 176Hf

Abstract

High-K bands in 176Hf have been populated in the (α,2n) reaction and the transitions between members of these bands separated from those involving low-K bands by means of delayed coincidence techniques. The 175Lu(3He,d)176Hf, the 175Lu(α,t)176Hf, and the 177Hf(3He,α)176Hf reactions have also been studied and used in conjunction with the (α,2n) data to determine the two-quasiparticle configurations of these bands. States up to spin 12 have been identified in the Kπ = 6+ bands based on the levels at 1333.1 and 1761.5 keV, in the Kπ = 8− bands based on the levels at 1559.3 and 1860.1 keV, and in a band of Kπ = 6− or 7− based on a level at 1798 keV. The strong mixing between the two-quasi-proton and two-quasi-neutron configurations characteristic of this nucleus poses an interesting theoretical problem.