EVIDENCE FOR X(5) CRITICAL POINT SYMMETRY IN 128Ce

Abstract

Lifetimes of excited states in 128 Ce were measured using the recoil distance Doppler-shift (RDDS) and the Doppler-shift attenuation (DSAM) methods. The experiments were performed at the Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory of Yale University. Excited states of 128 Ce were populated in the 100 Mo (32 Si ,4 n ) reaction at 120 MeV and the nuclear γ decay was measured with an array of eight Clover detectors positioned at forward and backward angles. The deduced yrast transition strengths together with the energies of the levels within the ground-state (gs) band of 128 Ce are in agreement with the predicted values for the X (5) critical point symmetry. Thus, we suggest 128 Ce as a benchmark X (5) nucleus in the mass A ≈ 130 region.