Rich band structure and multiple long-lived isomers in the odd-odd 118Cs nucleus

Abstract

One of the largest sets of collective excitations built on two-quasiparticle configurations in odd-odd nuclei of the proton-rich A≈120 mass region is reported in 118Cs. Several new rotational bands and long-lived isomers have been identified. The 8+ bandhead of the πh11/2⊗νh11/2 band is a short-lived isomer with a half-life in the nanosecond range, while the 7+ state below it is a long-lived isomer with a half-life of T1/2=0.55(6)μs. Two other long-lived isomers have been identified: a 66-keV transition detected at the MARA focal plane depopulates one of them, indicating a half-life in the microsecond range, while no depopulating transitions have been identified for the other, indicating a much longer half-life. Extensive particle number conserving cranked shell model calculations and alignment analysis have been employed to investigate the rich band structure of 118Cs, which exhibits one of the most complete sets of two-quasiparticle configurations in nuclei close to the proton drip line.