Identification of high-spin proton configurations in 136Ba and 137Ba

Abstract

The high-spin structures of 136 Ba and 137 Ba are investigated after multinucleon-transfer (MNT) and fusion-evaporation reactions. 136 Ba is populated in a 136 Xe + 238 U MNT reaction employing the high-resolution Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy, and in two 9Be + 130 Te fusion-evaporation reactions using the High-efficiency Observatory for γ -Ray Unique Spectroscopy (HORUS) at the FN tandem accelerator of the University of Cologne, Germany. Furthermore, both isotopes are populated in an elusive reaction channel in the 11 B + 130 Te fusion-evaporation reaction utilizing the HORUS γ -ray array. The level scheme above the Jπ = 10 + isomer in 136 Ba is revised and extended up to an excitation energy of approximately 5.5 MeV. From the results of angular-correlation measurements, the Ex=3707 - and Ex=4920 -keV states are identified as the bandheads of positive- and negative-parity cascades. While the high-spin regimes of both 132 Te and 134 Xe are characterized by high-energy 12 + → 10 + transitions, the 136 Ba E 2 ground-state band is interrupted by negative-parity states only a few hundred keV above the Jπ = 10 + isomer. Furthermore, spins are established for several hitherto unassigned high-spin states in 137 Ba . The new results close a gap along the high-spin structure of N<82 Ba isotopes. Experimental results are compared to large-scale shell-model calculations employing the GCN50:82, Realistic SM, PQM130, and SN100PN interactions. The calculations suggest that the bandheads of the positive-parity bands in both isotopes are predominantly of proton character.