Non-yrast states and shape co-existence in ¹⁷²Os

Abstract

Previous studies of 172Os noted an anomaly in the behaviour of the moment of inertia of the yrast band at low spin. A phenomenological model of shape coexistence based on interacting rotational bands was proposed to explain this anomaly and this model predicted low-lying non-yrast states. In order to test these predictions, the β-decay of 172Ir has been used to populate 172Os. Excited states have been observed and classified into positive-parity "quasi-β" and "quasi-γ" bands and a negative-parity band. The energies of the quasi-β band states are seen to be in general agreement with the predictions of the phenomenological model and the model is refined to take into account the new data. The bands involved are determined to have significantly different moments of inertia.