Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

www.elsevier.nl/locate/npe

High-spin states and lifetime measurements

in 171Hf
D.M. Cullen a , A.T. Reed a , D.E. Appelbe a,1 , A.N. Wilson a,2 , E.S. Paul a ,
M.H. Bergstrm a,3 , J.F. Sharpey-Schafer a,4 , C. Baktash b , I. Frosch b ,
I.Y. Lee c , A.O. Macchiavelli c , R.W. MacLeod c , D. Prevost d ,
Ch. Theisen d,5 , D. Curien d
a Oliver Lodge Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE,
United Kingdom
b Physics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6371, USA
c Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
d Institut de Recherches Subatomiques, F-67037, Strasbourg, CEDEX, France

Received 3 December 1999; revised 12 January 2000; accepted 19 January 2000

Abstract
This paper describes the results of two complementary experiments which studied the properties of
the well-deformed nucleus 171 Hf. The first experiment, with a thin self-supporting target, extended
the rotational bands built upon the [633]7/2, [512]5/2 and [521]1/2 configurations up to spins of
73/285/2h. The configurations of these bands and observed band crossings are discussed within
the framework of the cranked-shell model. The second experiment employed a backed target in
order to measure the lifetimes, by the Doppler Shift Attenuation method, and thereby establish
deformations for some of the states in the collective rotational bands. The extracted deformations
are found to be consistent with those predicted from theoretical Total Routhian Surface calculations.
These deformations provide strong evidence that the high-spin states in 171 Hf, and perhaps more
importantly, in the region where the high-K (K = 19/2+ and K = 23/2 ) isomeric states decay,
retain their well-deformed axial symmetry. 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

PACS: 21.10.Re; 21.10.Tg; 23.20.Lv; 27.70.+q

Keywords: NUCLEAR STRUCTURE 160 Gd(18 O,7n), E = 106 MeV; Measured E , I , I ( ); 171 Hf deduced
high-spin levels, J, , band structure; Comparison with WoodsSaxon cranking calculations, B(M1)/B(E2)
ratios; Enriched targets, EUROGAM II spectrometer; NUCLEAR STRUCTURE 128 Te(48 Ca,5n), E = 200 MeV;
171 Hf Doppler Shift Attenuation measurement of mean lifetimes of collective states, transition quadrupole

1 Present address: Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S4M1,
Canada.
2 Present address: Department of Physics, University of York, Heslington, York, YO1 5DD, U.K.
3 Present address: Institut fr Kernphysik, Universitt zu Kln, Zlpicher Str. 77, D-50937, Kln, Germany.
4 Present address: National Accelerator Center, PO Box 72, Faure, ZA-7131 South Africa.
5 Present address: C.E.A. Saclay, DAPNIA/SPhN, F-91191 Gif/Yvette, France.

0375-9474/00/$ see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 7 5 - 9 4 7 4 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 6 1 - 0
4 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

moments; Comparison with Total Routhian Surface calculations; Enriched targets, GAMMASPHERE
spectrometer

1. Introduction

The well deformed nucleus 171 Hf was first studied in the 1970s [13]. At that time, -
ray spectrometers were unable to establish the collective rotational bands up to sufficiently
high rotational frequencies to observe the expected sequence of band crossings. These band
crossings are generally employed as an aid in defining the high-frequency configurations
of the bands. A little more recently, in 1989, these rotational bands were extended to higher
spin [4]; however, the majority of research on 171 Hf has focussed on the lower-spin states.
As an example, experiments with the IGISOL facility have established the 29.5(9) second
half life of the 1/2 bandhead state in the [521]1/2 rotational band in 171 Hf [5] and have
measured the deformations of the Hf isotope chain [6]. The charge radii, extracted for
these Hf isotopes, corresponds closely to that predicted from the 2 deformations and the
peaking of the deformation beyond mid-shell (near A = 173) is observed to be common in
both the theoretical and measured deformations.
The objective of the present work was to extend the collective rotational bands, based
on the neutron [633]7/2, [512]5/2 and [521]1/2 configurations in 171 Hf, to high rotational
frequencies in order to fully establish the band crossing frequencies and thereby, permit a
comparison with the systematics of the neighbouring nuclei [3,79]. In addition, this work
aimed at determining the lifetimes and therefore the deformations of the high-spin states
in these collective rotational bands. Such deformation measurements would extend the
IGISOL measurements to the higher-spin regime and allow an additional comparison to be
made with the theoretical deformations based on particular configurations. The significance
of establishing the deformation of the higher-spin states in 171 Hf is related to the decay of
the K = 19/2+ and K = 23/2 isomeric states [3,10]. The lifetimes for the decay of
these isomers are governed by the K-selection rule [11]. This selection rule is only valid if
the [633]7/2 ground-state band (to which the isomers decay) retains its axially-symmetric
shape at intermediate spins. In such circumstances, K remains a good quantum number;
however, if the shape of the [633]7/2 ground-state band is no longer axially symmetric
then the expected hindrance for the decay transitions [10] would be substantially eroded.
Such an effect was observed in the -soft nucleus 182 Os [12].

2. Experiments

This paper presents the analysis of two reactions which populated 171 Hf. The first
experiment was performed with a thin-target in order to extend the known [14] collective
rotational bands to high spin. These high-spin states were populated in 171 Hf with the
160 Gd(18 O,7n) reaction. The 106-MeV beam was supplied by the Vivitron electrostatic

accelerator at Strasbourg, France. Two self-supporting stacked thin targets of 160 Gd, with
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 5

total thickness 1 mg/cm2, were used. In the experiment, a total of 3.2 109 unpacked
triple-coincident events were collected with the fifty-four escape-suppressed germanium
detectors of the EUROGAM II array [13]. Energy and efficiency calibrations were obtained
with 133 Ba, 152 Eu and 56 Co sources which were placed at the target position.
The second experiment was performed with a backed target in order to deduce the
lifetimes of some of the states in the collective rotational bands with the Doppler Shift
Attenuation method. This experiment populated 171 Hf with the 128 Te(48 Ca,5n) reaction
as a secondary product of a study on 172 Hf [8]. The 200-MeV beam was supplied by the
88-Inch Cyclotron at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA. A single target
of 128 Te with thickness 1 mg/cm2 was used on a backing of 15 mg/cm2 of 197 Au in
order to stop all of the nuclear recoils. To prevent the loss of Te atoms when exposed
to the beam, and to improve heat conduction and mechanical support, a thin layer of
197 Au (0.1 mg/cm2 ) was evaporated over the front of the target. In the experiment, a total

of 7 1010 unpacked triple-coincident events were collected with the sixty-four escape-
suppressed germanium detectors of the GAMMASPHERE array [14]. Energy and efficiency
calibrations were obtained with 133 Ba, 152 Eu and 182 Ta sources which were placed at the
target position.

3. Data analysis and results

As a consequence of the fact that both of these experiments were performed with a
large array of escape-suppressed spectrometers, EUROGAM II and GAMMASPHERE, the
average -ray multiplicity distribution consisted mostly of triple- and higher-coincident
events. In the analysis, a combination of two-, three- and four-dimensional histograms
were used. Gates were placed in these histograms and the -ray intensities and coincidence
relationships were used to determine the order of the rays in the level scheme. These data
were analysed with both the Radware [15] and the UPAK [16] software packages. The
data from the thin-target reaction allowed the level scheme to be extended to high spin
and the data from the backed-target experiment was used solely to determine the lifetimes
and therefore, deformations, for some of the states in the collective rotational bands. The
non-symmetric matrices employed in the Doppler shift lineshape analysis are discussed in
Section 3.2.
The multipolarities of the rays were obtained from an angular correlation analysis
using the method of directional correlation from oriented states (DCO) [17]. A matrix was
constructed (from the EUROGAM II data) in which all events detected in coincidence with
one of the twenty-four 90 detectors were incremented on one of the axes versus any other
non-90 detector on the other axis. Likewise, another matrix was created which contained
any event from a 22.4 (forward) or a 157.6 (backward) detector on one of the axes and
any other detector on the other axis. The directional correlation ratios extracted from these
matrices
I (forward) + I (backward)
RDCO = , (1)
I (90)
6 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

were used to deduce the multipolarity of the rays except for the weaker transitions.
The DCO ratios from these matrices were calibrated with a selection of known stretched
quadrupole transitions and known pure ( = 0) dipole transitions whose ratios were 1.0
and 0.5, respectively. Some of the high-spin band extensions are suggested to be electric
quadrupole transitions on the basis of the regular energy sequences which are characteristic
of quadrupole rotation.

3.1. Level scheme

The new level scheme for 171 Hf, deduced from the present work, is shown in Fig. 1.
All of the known low-K bands [14] have been extended in the present work. The high-
K bands were recently discussed in Ref. [10] and will not be discussed here. The -ray
energies, intensities, DCO ratios and spin assignments for these transitions from the thin-
target experiment are given in Table 1. A selection of -ray spectra from the thin-target
experiment are shown in Figs. 2(a)(h).
Bands 1a and 1b have been extended in the present work to spin 73/2 and 63/2h,
respectively, see Figs. 2(a)(c). At spin 45/2h, a new sequence of transitions was
previously observed [4] to decay into band 1a. This sequence is confirmed in the present
work and a -ray spectrum is shown in Fig. 2(b).
Bands 2a and 2b are extended to spin 75/2 and 65/2h, respectively, see Figs. 2(d)
and (e). The interband transitions have also been extended between both signature-partner
bands up to spin 39/2h, see Fig. 1. The 50-keV transition from 5/2 bandhead state to
the ground state [1] with half life of 63.6 4.0 ns was not observed in these data due to
its large electron conversion coefficient and the poor energy and timing response of large
volume germanium detectors at low -ray energies.
Bands 3a and 3b are extended up to spins of 81/2 and 67/2h, respectively, see Fig. 1.
Selected -ray spectra for these bands 3a and 3b are shown in Figs. 2(f) and 2(g),
respectively. In a similar manner to the behaviour observed in band 1a, another sequence
of four transitions appears to decay into band 3a at spin 49/2h, see Fig. 2(h). In addition,
as was noted in both Refs. [1] and [4], the coincidence data reveal that the favoured and
unfavoured signatures of bands 3a and 3b are in coincidence with each other, for example,
the 66-keV transition is observed to be in coincidence with the 175-keV transition, see
Fig. 2(g). In the present work this unfavoured to favoured crosstalk has been established
up to the spin 35/2h, see Fig. 1. Some of the linking transitions can be observed in
Fig. 2(g).

3.2. Mean lifetime measurements using the Doppler shift attenuation method

The authors of Ref. [3] noted that the high-energy transitions in bands 1a and 1b and
bands 3a and 3b were Doppler broadened indicating that the feeding times of those high-
spin states were of the order of the characteristic stopping time of the nuclear recoils in the
target material. In the present work, the mean lifetimes of these collective rotational bands
in 171 Hf (bands 1a, 1b, 3a and 3b) have been established from an analysis of the Doppler
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

Fig. 1. The new level scheme for 171 Hf established from this work. Transition energies are given in keV, while the widths of the arrows indicate their relative intensities, with
the white parts showing the calculated component from internal conversion.
7
8 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

Table 1
The energies, intensities and DCO ratios for all of the -ray transitions observed
in 171 Hf. If no DCO is given then the spin assignment is based on the previously
established level scheme [3,4]. Energies denoted with a are quoted from Ref. [3]

E (keV) I RDCO Assignment Ii Jf

Band 1a
61.8(2) (M1/E2) 9/2+ 7/2+
84.1(2) (M1/E2) 11/2+ 9/2+
98.9(1) 11.5(20) 0.94(5) M1/E2 13/2+ 11/2+
129.4(1) 16.6(8) 0.57(3) M1/E2 17/2+ 15/2+
151.7(2) 9.7(4) 0.59(4) M1/E2 21/2+ 19/2+
159.9(1) 6.6(4) (M1/E2) 25/2+ 23/2+
165.4(2) 4.4(4) 0.47(13) M1/E2 29/2+ 27/2+
170.6(1) 1.3(4) 0.61(25) M1/E2 33/2+ 31/2+
179.4(3) 0.4(4) (M1/E2) 37/2+ 35/2+
189.9(3) 0.3(2) (M1/E2) 41/2+ 39/2+
183.6(1) 91.8(28) 0.87(4) E2 13/2+ 9/2+
267.1(1) 50.5(18) 1.11(7) E2 17/2+ 13/2+
353.1(1) 56.0(16) 1.15(4) E2 21/2+ 17/2+
438.9(1) 74.4(22) 1.20(3) E2 25/2+ 21/2+
520.9(1) 68.8(21) 1.42(19) E2 29/2+ 25/2+
596.9(1) 69.3(21) 1.14(21) E2 33/2+ 29/2+
665.3(1) 35.5(11) 1.10(7) E2 37/2+ 33/2+
725.7(1) 24.7(8) 1.66(20) E2 41/2+ 37/2+
772.6(1) 17.2(8) 1.12(8) E2 45/2+ 41/2+
783.1(3) 10.0(4) 1.39(13) E2 49/2+ 45/2+
798.8(3) 2.7(4) 1.52(11) E2 53/2+ 49/2+
860.7(2) 2.7(4) (E2) 57/2+ 53/2+
928.0(1) 1.3(4) (E2) 61/2+ 57/2+
990.5(2) 0.9(4) (E2) 65/2+ 61/2+
1043.3(3) 2.2(4) (E2) 69/2+ 65/2+
1090.1(4) 0.1(4) (E2) 73/2+ 69/2+
Band 1a fork
845.0(2) 7.6(8) 1.23(18) E2 49/2+ 45/2+
896.8(3) 2.4(4) (E2) 53/2+ 49/2+
956.3(4) 0.3(4) (E2) 57/2+ 53/2+
1014.5(5) 0.2(4) (E2) 61/2+ 57/2+
Band 1b
137.2(2) 0.3(1) 0.61(3) M1/E2 15/2+ 9/2+
203.6(2) 17.1(8) 0.42(4) M1/E2 19/2+ 17/2+
279.0(2) 12.0(8) (M1/E2) 23/2+ 21/2+
354.5(3) 8.8(8) (M1/E2) 27/2+ 25/2+
426.7(1) 3.6(8) (M1/E2) 31/2+ 29/2+
487.1(2) 4.5(8) (M1/E2) 35/2+ 33/2+
536.0(3) 1.7(4) (M1/E2) 39/2+ 37/2+
572.5(5) 5.2(2) (M1/E2) 43/2+ 41/2+
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 9

Table 1 continued

E (keV) I RDCO Assignment Ii Jf

145.5(1) 15.2(38) 0.91(19) E2 11/2+ 7/2+

235.5(2) 35.2(24) 1.00(7) E2 15/2+ 11/2+
333.6(1) 40.0(12) 1.04(4) E2 19/2+ 15/2+
427.0(5) 47.4(14) (E2) 23/2+ 19/2+
515.2(2) 49.5(15) 1.13(4) E2 27/2+ 23/2+
592.2(2) 43.0(13) 1.17(8) E2 31/2+ 27/2+
658.0(2) 29.0(9) 1.14(5) E2 35/2+ 31/2+
714.1(2) 19.6(6) 0.95(5) E2 39/2+ 35/2+
762.8(2) 12.1(4) 1.07(4) E2 43/2+ 39/2+
809.5(3) 6.3(8) (E2) 47/2+ 43/2+
860.9(4) 2.9(8) (E2) 51/2+ 47/2+
907.8(5) 2.0(8) (E2) 55/2+ 51/2+
961.2(5) 1.1(8) (E2) 59/2+ 55/2+
1004.5(5) 1.1(8) (E2) 63/2+ 59/2+
Band 2a
92.6(2) 3.8(38) 1.52(12) M1/E2 7/2 5/2
139.6(2) 0.3(4) 0.66(4) M1/E2 11/2 9/2
180.1(1) 0.6(4) 0.55(5) M1/E2 15/2 13/2
213.6(3) 0.5(8) 0.79(5) M1/E2 19/2 17/2
235.8(1) 0.3(5) 0.57(3) M1/E2 23/2 21/2
254.4(1) 0.2(5) (M1/E2) 27/2 25/2
276.0(3) 0.5(4) 0.58(7) M1/E2 31/2 29/2
291.0(5) 0.2(5) (M1/E2) 35/2 33/2
296.5(3) 0.2(4) (M1/E2) 39/2 37/2
255.8(1) 0.3(0) 0.96(3) E2 11/2 7/2
342.1(1) 0.7(4) 1.53(29) E2 15/2 11/2
410.3(1) 3.0(7) 1.00(4) E2 19/2 15/2
461.1(1) 2.8(4) 1.08(3) E2 23/2 19/2
497.3(2) 1.6(4) 1.06(12) E2 27/2 23/2
526.9(1) 2.5(4) 1.08(9) E2 31/2 27/2
557.4(2) 2.5(4) 1.30(13) E2 35/2 31/2
598.9(2) 2.3(4) (E2) 39/2 35/2
654.6(2) 0.8(4) (E2) 43/2 39/2
718.2(1) 1.1(4) (E2) 47/2 43/2
784.5(3) 0.9(4) (E2) 51/2 47/2
848.8(2) 0.9(4) (E2) 55/2 51/2
910.0(3) 0.2(4) (E2) 59/2 55/2
971.1(4) 0.1(4) (E2) 63/2 59/2
1014.4(4) 0.1(4) (E2) 67/2 63/2
1045.1(4) 0.6(4) (E2) 71/2 67/2
1065.1(4) 0.1(4) (E2) 75/2 71/2
Band 2b
116.3(4) 2.0(4) 0.72(3) M1/E2 9/2 7/2
161.6(2) 2.2(4) 0.56(3) M1/E2 13/2 11/2
10 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

Table 1 continued

E (keV) I RDCO Assignment Ii Jf

224.6(2) 0.8(0) 1.08(13) M1/E2 21/2 19/2

241.4(2) 0.3(4) (M1/E2) 25/2 23/2
253.3(2) 0.8(4) 0.56(6) M1/E2 29/2 27/2
266.2(2) 0.3(4) 0.85(5) M1/E2 33/2 31/2
302.2(2) 0.3(4) 0.98(3) M1/E2 37/2 35/2
208.8(1) 2.1(5) 0.83(6) E2 9/2 5/2
301.6(2) 1.0(4) E2 13/2 9/2
378.8(1) 0.7(4) 1.05(7) E2 17/2 13/2
437.8(2) 1.6(4) 1.11(4) E2 21/2 17/2
477.9(3) 1.6(8) 1.29(7) E2 25/2 21/2
506.4(3) 1.8(4) 1.06(6) E2 29/2 25/2
542.3(3) 1.5(8) 1.07(8) E2 33/2 29/2
593.7(3) 2.3(9) 1.10(5) E2 37/2 33/2
650.3(2) 0.9(4) 0.79(8) E2 41/2 37/2
705.7(2) 1.0(4) (E2) 45/2 41/2
762.3(1) 0.3(4) (E2) 49/2 45/2
821.4(3) 0.6(4) (E2) 53/2 49/2
876.4(3) 0.3(4) (E2) 57/2 53/2
943.0(5) 0.2(4) (E2) 61/2 57/2
988.7(5) 0.2(4) (E2) 65/2 61/2
Band 3a
79.7(1) 14.1(6) 5/2 1/2
174.6(1) 60.0(30) 0.82(3) E2 9/2 5/2
258.0(1) 83.3(28) 0.92(8) E2 13/2 9/2
329.6(2) 89.0(28) 1.01(7) E2 37/2 35/2
389.1(1) 88.4(28) 1.04(11) E2 21/2 17/2
439.8(1) 84.9(28) 1.09(7) E2 23/2 19/2
485.0(1) 80.2(30) 1.11(8) E2 29/2 25/2
526.9(1) 67.3(22) 1.12(9) E2 33/2 29/2
570.1(1) 53.0(20) 1.10(4) E2 37/2 33/2
619.7(2) 36.8(16) 1.16(18) E2 41/2 37/2
676.7(2) 29.1(12) (E2) 45/2 41/2
736.7(2) 20.0(8) (E2) 49/2 45/2
797.7(2) 8.2(8) 1.15(6) E2 53/2 49/2
858.4(2) 6.4(8) 0.96(21) E2 57/2 53/2
918.8(2) 2.0(4) 1.34(37) E2 61/2 57/2
978.0(2) 1.0(4) (E2) 65/2 61/2
1034.9(2) 0.8(4) (E2) 69/2 65/2
1076.0(2) 0.6(4) (E2) 73/2 69/2
1097.0(2) 0.3(4) (E2) 77/2 73/2
1133.4(2) 0.3(4) (E2) 81/2 77/2
1162.2(2) 0.2(4) (E2) 85/2 81/2
Band 3a fork
359.7(2) 3.2(4) 1.06(25) (E2) (51/2 ) (49/2 )
784.4(2) 2.2(7) (E2) (55/2 ) (51/2 )
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 11

Table 1 continued

E (keV) I RDCO Assignment Ii Jf

829.1(2) 4.1(7) (E2) (59/2 ) (55/2 )

868.5(2) 1.6(6) (E2) (63/2 ) (59/2 )
Band 3b
66.4(9) 3.8(8) (M1/E2) 3/2 1/2
153.6(2) 1.5(6) 0.93(10) M1/E2 7/2 5/2
230.4(3) 2.2(4) 1.06(7) M1/E2 11/2 9/2
300.3(4) 1.1(4) 1.02(11) M1/E2 15/2 13/2
366.8(4) 1.7(4) (M1/E2) 19/2 17/2
431.8(5) 1.7(4) (M1/E2) 23/2 21/2
498.0(4) 1.1(4) (M1/E2) 27/2 25/2
566.7(4) 5.4(4) 1.07(18) M1/E2 31/2 29/2
646.0(5) 3.0(4) (M1/E2) 35/2 33/2
165.3(1) 20.0(9) 0.86(10) E2 7/2 3/2
252.8(1) 16.3(4) 0.93(8) E2 11/2 7/2
329.1(1) 12.3(8) 1.07(8) E2 15/2 11/2
395.1(1) 17.2(8) (E2) 19/2 15/2
453.1(1) 16.9(8) 1.01(10) E2 23/2 19/2
506.1(1) 17.4(8) 1.06(11) E2 27/2 23/2
555.9(1) 15.2(8) 1.14(3) E2 31/2 27/2
602.6(1) 23.1(7) 1.01(8) E2 35/2 31/2
641.5(1) 10.2(3) 1.13(16) E2 39/2 35/2
679.9(1) 10.7(8) 1.08(17) E2 43/2 39/2
734.0(2) 6.4(8) 1.17(17) E2 47/2 43/2
793.4(3) 3.5(8) (E2) 51/2 47/2
860.0(5) 1.4(8) (E2) 55/2 51/2
916.5(8) 0.9(4) (E2) 59/2 55/2
971.0(8) 0.6(4) (E2) 63/2 59/2
1016.0(8) 0.3(4) (E2) 67/2 63/2

broadened transition lineshapes from the thick-target GAMMASPHERE data. Those -ray
transitions which were emitted when the recoiling nuclei were slowing in the target and
backing material have a broadened lineshape due to the Doppler effect. The magnitude of
the Doppler shift depends upon the recoil velocity at the time when the ray was emitted
and also upon the angle of detection. This recoil velocity, which is a function of time, is
determined by the nuclear slowing-down processes in the target and backing material. The
-ray emission time depends upon the lifetimes of both the state itself and those states
from which is has been fed.
As was noted in Section 3, most of the rays studied in this work were from triple-
and higher-coincident events and the least contaminated spectra were produced from those
events which were double gated on the transitions in a particular band of interest. In the
lineshape analysis this was achieved by using gated coincidence matrices whose gates were
the uncontaminated lower-spin transitions. These low-spin transitions were emitted from
12 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

Fig. 2. A series of triple-gated spectra for a selection of the bands observed in this work from
the thin-target reaction. (a) Band 1a showing the new sequence; triple-gated spectrum from all
non-diagonal combinations of the gatelist c/783/799, where list c = (184, 267, 353, 439, 521,
597, 665, 726, 773) keV. (b) Band 1a; triple-gated spectrum from all non-diagonal combinations
of the two gatelists a/b/b where list a = (184, 267, 353, 439, 521, 597, 665, 726, 773) keV and
list b = (845, 897) keV. (c) Band 1b; triple-gated spectrum from all non-diagonal combinations
of the gatelist d/d/d, where list d = (236, 334, 427, 515, 592, 658, 714, 763, 810, 861, 908) keV.
(d) Band 2a; triple-gated spectrum from all non-diagonal combinations of the gatelist f/f/f , where
list f = (256, 342, 410, 461, 497, 527, 557, 599, 655, 718, 785, 849, 910) keV.

states whose lifetimes were long, compared with the slowing down time of the recoils in
the target and backing, which ensures that these transitions were emitted when the nucleus
was at rest and show no Doppler broadened lineshapes. These are the so-called stopped
transitions.
In order to fully analyse these lineshapes three gated coincidence matrices were
created for each band of interest. The first matrix contained only those events which
were detected in the 31.7 (forward) detectors on one of the axes versus those which
were detected in any of the other detectors on the other axis. The second matrix had any
event from a 162.7 (backward) detector on one axis and any other detector on the other
axis. Finally the third gated matrix had any event from the 90 detectors on one axis and
any other detector on the other axis. The latter matrix was used to ascertain the exact
energy of the -ray transitions. For each band a sum of the low-spin uncontaminated gates
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 13

Fig. 2. Continued. (e) Band 2b; triple-gated spectrum from all non-diagonal combinations of the
gatelist e/e/e, where list e = (302, 379, 438, 478, 542, 594, 650, 706) keV. (f) Band 3a; triple-gated
spectrum from all non-diagonal combinations of the gatelist g/g/g, where list g = (175, 258,
330, 389, 440, 485, 527, 570, 620, 677, 737, 798, 858, 919, 978, 1035) keV. (g) Band 3b, triple-gated
spectrum from all non-diagonal combinations of the gatelist h/ h/ h, where list h = (165, 253,
329, 395, 453, 506, 556, 603, 642, 680) keV. (h) Band 3a; showing the new tentative sequence;
triple-gated spectrum from all non-diagonal combinations of the gatelist i/i/360, where list
i = (175, 258, 330, 389, 440, 485, 527, 570, 620, 677, 737) keV.

was then produced from each of these matrices for the forward and backward detector
angles.
The transition lineshapes were analysed by the program LINESHAPE [18] which
is based on a program written by Gascon, see Ref. [19]. The program calculates -ray
lineshapes and extracts the lifetimes of the nuclear states by fitting the experimental data.
Detailed descriptions of the method and its application are discussed in Refs. [19] and [20].
In the analysis, both electronic and nuclear stopping powers were used to calculate the
slowing down process. For the electronic stopping power the tabulated values of Northcliffe
and Schilling [21], corrected for the atomic shell effect [22], were used. For the nuclear
stopping power a multiple Coulomb scattering formalism was employed [23].
The velocity distribution of the recoiling ions in the target and backing material were
calculated in a Monte Carlo fashion [24]. The Monte Carlo simulation treats the electron
stopping power as a continuous slowing down process and assumes that the discrete nuclear
14 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

collisions occur at a rate given by the Lindhart cross section [23]. In this process the
distribution of the magnitude and direction of the velocity, the so-called velocity profile,
was calculated at fixed time intervals during the slowing-down time and a set of -ray
peak shapes was produced for each time step at each -ray detector angle. These shapes
were stored in a shape-versus-time two-dimensional matrix. A time step of 0.01 ps was
used and a total number of 5000 histories were calculated for each detector angle which
provided a complete set of lineshapes ranging from the fully-shifted (at time zero) to the
fully-stopped peaks.
In order to reproduce the lineshapes, the -ray yield as a function of time was calculated
using the solution of Batemans equation [25]. The final calculated lineshapes were then
obtained by summing the independent lineshapes at each time interval weighted by the
-ray yield. Since the spectra were gated below the states of interest, the lifetimes of the
states include a time delay contribution from the side feeding which must be taken into
account. The side feeding intensities were obtained from the experimentally determined
intensities given in Table 1. In the analysis the program assumes that a rotational band,
with known energies, and a set of rotational transitions with the same moment of inertia
precedes the highest-spin transition. The mean lifetime, , of the E2 transition with energy
E is given by
= 1.23 1013E5 B(E2), (2)
where the -ray energies of the modeled side-feeding rotational sequence are given by
h2 (4I 1)
E (SF) = (3)
2=(SF)
and
5
B(E2; I I 2) = hI 2 0 0 | I 2 0i2 Q2 , (4)
16
where is in picoseconds, E is in MeV, Q is in eb, and B(E2; I I 2) is in e2 b2 .
A side-feeding cascade with a constant moment of inertia was assumed to be connected
to each level in the band. This side feeding for each level is obtained from the experimental
data and the side-feeding time was controlled by a parameter, Q (SF), which was included
in the fit. The program can simulate up to five side-feeding levels and in the analysis it was
found that the optimum 2 was obtained when five side-feeding levels were used. With
this method it was possible to fit the lifetime of a state and the corresponding side-feeding
quadrupole moments, Q (SF), for each -ray transition with an observable lineshape,
starting from the highest level.
In the analysis the following parameters were simultaneously fitted using a 2
minimisation technique: (1) the transition quadrupole moment of the state, Q , (2) the
associated side-feeding quadrupole moment of the modeled state, Q (SF), (3) the
intensities at each angle of the fitted peak and those of the contaminant stopped peaks
near the peak of interest, and (4) the intercept and gradient of a linear background beneath
the peaks. In the program the uncertainties in the lifetimes were determined by a statistical
method using the MINOS subroutine [26]. This routine assumes that the lowest value of
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 15

2 , min
2 , occurs for the most likely or best fit parameters and the region over which 2

assumes values smaller than min 2 + 1 corresponds to one standard deviation. Before the

fit the following parameters were selected: (1) the number of states in the side-feeding
cascade, N , (2) the moment of inertia of the side-feeding cascade, =(SF), and (3) the
intrinsic resolution of the detectors. The optimum 2 was obtained when the moment of
inertia of the side-feeding cascade was set to be the same as that of the band being fitted,
=(SF) = 50 h2 MeV1 . The data from the forward and backward detectors were fitted
independently and the final lifetime was an arithmetic average of the forward and backward
fits.
The extracted deformations of the bands, for which this analysis could be performed
(bands 1a, 1b, 3a and 3b), were compared with those predicted from a series of Total
Routhian Surface calculations based upon the proposed configurations. This comparison
is discussed in Section 4.3. For the other bands in 171 Hf (the high-K bands and bands 2a
and 2b) this lineshape analysis was not performed. This was due to the fact that these
bands were too weak in intensity and there was no possibility to make spectra which were
sufficiently free from contamination.

3.2.1. Bands 1a and 1b lineshapes

Two lineshape matrices were created for bands 1a and 1b. One was gated on the 521-keV
transition in band 1a and the other was gated on the 427-keV transition in band 1b.
Fig. 3 shows three transitions in band 1a, in the region over which it was possible to
perform the lineshape analysis, with the respective forward and backward fits for (a) and
(b) the 665-keV; (c) and (d) the 726-keV and (e) and (f) the 773-keV transitions. The
fitted parameters extracted from the results of the lineshape analysis for the forward and
backward fits for band 1a are shown in Table 2. Similarly, Fig. 4 shows the three transitions
in band 1b, in the region over which it was possible to perform the lineshape analysis,
with the respective forward and backward fits for (a) and (b) the 658-keV; (c) and (d) the
714-keV and (e) and (f) the 763-keV transitions. The fitted parameters extracted from the
results of the lineshape analysis for the forward and backward fits for band 1b are shown
in Table 3.

Table 2
Summary of the results for the transition quadrupole moments, Q , and lifetimes, , for the states in
band 1a, [633]7/2, ( = +1/2)

E Q Q Q Q (SF) Q (SF) Q (SF)

(keV) (eb) (eb) (eb) (ps) (eb) (eb) (eb)
Forward Backward Average Average Forward Backward Average

665.3 5.56+0.60
0.52 5.70+1.16
0.32 5.63+1.16
0.52 0.54+0.11
0.05 4.54+0.70
0.36 4.80+1.00
1.55 4.67+1.00
1.55
725.7 6.29+0.68
0.56 5.90+0.32
0.54 6.10+0.68
0.56 0.30+0.03
0.03 4.42+0.80
0.20 5.00+0.72
0.32 4.71+0.80
0.32
772.6 5.08+0.40
0.44 5.68+0.56
0.52 5.38+0.56
0.52 0.28+0.03
0.03 4.70+0.44
0.52 4.40+0.56
1.04 4.55+0.56
1.04
845.0 4.03+0.72
0.32 3.95+0.44
0.68 3.99+0.72
0.68 0.44+0.08
0.08 4.00+1.26
0.94 4.04+0.36
0.36 4.02+1.26
0.94
16 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

Fig. 3. The Doppler broadened line shapes observed for band 1a from a double-gated spectrum in the
thick-target reaction, see text for details; (a) and (b) show the 665-keV lineshape; (c) and (d) show
the 726-keV lineshape; and (e) and (f) show the 773-keV transition lineshape for the forward and
backward detectors, respectively. The data are shown by histograms, contaminant peaks by dashed
lines and the total line shapes, with and without contaminant peaks, by solid lines.

Table 3
Summary of the results for the transition quadrupole moments, Q , and lifetimes, , for the states in
band 1b, [633]7/2 ( = 1/2)

E Q Q Q Q (SF) Q (SF) Q (SF)

(keV) (eb) (eb) (eb) (ps) (eb) (eb) (eb)
Forward Backward Average Average Forward Backward Average

658.0 5.13+0.64
0.64 5.29+0.90
0.64 5.21+0.90
0.64 0.66+0.11
0.08 3.58+1.24
1.40 4.29+0.36
0.36 3.94+1.24
1.40
714.1 5.67+0.60
0.64 6.75+0.60
0.56 6.21+0.60
0.64 0.31+0.03
0.03 5.00+0.44
0.44 4.90+1.23
1.40 4.95+1.23
1.40
762.8 5.90+1.08
1.12 5.58+0.85
0.92 5.74+1.08
1.12 0.26+0.05
0.05 5.00+1.36
1.12 4.85+0.56
0.40 4.93+1.36
1.12

In Table 2, and the following Tables 3, 4, and 5, for bands 1a, 1b, 3a and 3b, respectively,
the uncertainty limit shown on the quadrupole moment, Q , was from the results of the
MINOS routine. The uncertainty on the accepted average value is the larger of the two
MINOS values used in the averaging. However, it was also noted that the uncertainty
associated with the electronic and nuclear stopping powers introduces a minimum possible
uncertainty in the lifetime values of 8%. When the uncertainties from the fitting routine
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 17

Fig. 4. The Doppler broadened line shapes observed for band 1b from a double-gated spectrum in the
thick-target reaction, see text for details; (a) and (b) show the 658-keV lineshape; (c) and (d) show
the 714-keV lineshape; and (e) and (f) show the 763-keV transition lineshape for the forward and
backward detectors, respectively. The data are shown by histograms, contaminant peaks by dashed
lines and the total line shapes, with and without contaminant peaks, by solid lines.

Table 4
Summary of the results for the transition quadrupole moments, Q , and lifetimes, , for the states in
band 3a, [521]1/2 ( = +1/2). A (*) denotes where a lifetime uncertainty of 8% was employed
from the estimated lowest possible uncertainty in the stopping powers, see text for details

E Q Q Q Q (SF) Q (SF) Q (SF)

(keV) (eb) (eb) (eb) (ps) (eb) (eb) (eb)
Forward Backward Average Average Forward Backward Average

+0.07()
570.1 6.51+0.40
0.40 6.64+0.28
0.40 6.58+0.40
0.40 0.850.07() 6.00+0.44
0.36 6.10+1.24
0.84 6.05+1.24
0.84
+0.04()
619.7 6.71+0.28
0.32 7.02+0.34
0.32 6.87+0.34
0.32 0.510.04() 6.30+0.68
0.48 6.40+0.24
0.84 6.35+0.68
0.84
676.7 6.91+0.32
0.32 6.29+0.48
0.20 6.60+0.48
0.32 0.36+0.03
0.03() 7.00+1.20
0.56 6.40+1.31
0.68 6.70+1.31
0.68
736.7 6.38+0.93
1.20 6.62+1.20
0.12 6.50+1.20
1.20 0.24+0.04
0.04 5.40+1.24
0.96 6.70+0.76
0.68 6.05+1.24
0.96
797.7 5.90+0.82
0.44 5.09+0.52
0.52 5.50+0.82
0.52 0.28+0.04
0.03 5.00+0.76
0.52 4.80+1.00
0.88 4.90+1.00
0.88
858.4 6.93+1.40
1.43 5.25+1.21
1.28 6.09+1.40
1.43 0.14+0.03
0.03 6.10+0.84
0.80 5.01+0.24
1.28 5.56+0.84
1.28

were smaller than this value, a lower limit of 8% was used. Such values are denoted in
these tables with a (*). A similar process was adopted for the side-feeding quadrupole
moments of the side-feeding cascade, Q (SF).
 18
D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

Fig. 5. The Doppler broadened line shapes observed for band 3a from a double-gated spectrum in the thick-target reaction, see text for details; (a) and (b) show the 570-keV
lineshape; (c) and (d) show the 620-keV lineshape; and (e) and (f) show the 677-keV transition lineshape; and (g) and (h) show the 737-keV transition lineshape for the forward
and backward detectors, respectively. The data are shown by histograms, contaminant peaks by dashed lines and the total line shapes, with and without contaminant peaks, by
solid lines.
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 19

Table 5
Summary of the results for the transition quadrupole moments, Q , and lifetimes, , for the states in
band 3b, [521]1/2 ( = 1/2)

E Q Q Q Q (SF) Q (SF) Q (SF)

(keV) (eb) (eb) (eb) (ps) (eb) (eb) (eb)
Forward Backward Average Average Forward Backward Average

602.6 7.15+0.54
0.48 6.33+0.56
0.72 6.74+0.56
0.72 0.62+0.05
0.07 7.30+1.20
0.40 5.70+1.24
0.80 6.50+1.24
0.80
641.5 5.55+1.20
0.54 5.60+0.60
0.52 5.58+1.20
0.54 0.66+0.14
0.06 6.20+0.60
1.20 6.10+1.30
1.20 6.15+1.30
1.20
679.9 6.54+0.64
0.42 6.63+1.23
1.20 6.59+1.23
1.20 0.36+0.07
0.07 6.01+1.01
0.88 6.03+1.20
0.88 6.02+1.20
0.88
734.0 6.18+1.20
1.28 5.92+0.88
0.76 6.05+1.20
1.28 0.28+0.06
0.06 5.16+0.44
0.60 5.90+0.48
0.52 5.53+0.48
0.60

Fig. 6. The Doppler broadened line shapes observed for band 3b from a double-gated spectrum in the
thick-target reaction, see text for details; (a) and (b) show the 603-keV lineshape; (c) and (d) show
the 642-keV lineshape; and (e) and (f) show the 680-keV transition lineshape for the forward and
backward detectors, respectively. The data are shown by histograms, contaminant peaks by dashed
lines and the total line shapes, with and without contaminant peaks, by solid lines.

3.2.2. Bands 3a and 3b lineshapes

Two lineshape matrices were created for band 3. One was gated on the 175- and 258-keV
transitions in band 3a and the other was gated on the 395- and 453-keV transitions in
band 3b. Fig. 5 shows the four transitions in band 3a in the region over which it was possible
20 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

to perform the lineshape analysis with the respective forward and backward fits for (a) and
(b) the 570-keV; (c) and (d) the 620-keV; (e) and (f) the 677-keV and (g) and (h) the
737-keV transitions. The fitted parameters extracted from the results of the lineshape
analysis for the forward and backward fits for band 3a are shown in Table 4. Similarly,
Fig. 6 shows the three transitions in band 3b in the region over which it was possible to
perform the lineshape analysis with the respective forward and backward fits for (a) and
(b) the 603-keV; (c) and (d) the 642-keV and (e) and (f) the 680-keV transitions. The
fitted parameters extracted from the results of the lineshape analysis for the forward and
backward fits for band 3b are shown in Table 5.

4. Discussion

The configurations for the bands in 171 Hf have previously been discussed in Refs. [1
4,10]. In the present work, theoretical Total Routhian Surface (TRS) and WoodsSaxon
cranked-shell-model calculations [27] have been performed for 171 Hf. The results of
the TRS calculations are presented in Figs. 7(a)(c) for the three bands 1, 2 and 3, in
171 Hf, respectively. The results of the cranked-shell model calculations, performed at the

deformation extracted from the TRS calculation (2 = 0.258, 4 = 0.010 and = 0.3 ),
are shown in Figs. 8(a) and 8(b), for neutrons and protons, respectively. According to these
calculations and previous studies [14,10], the lowest-lying neutron orbits around the N =
99 Fermi surface are the [633]7/2, [521]1/2 and [512]5/2 orbitals, see Fig. 8(a). Similarly,
the lowest-lying proton orbitals around the Z = 72 Fermi level are the [404]7/2, [402]5/2
and [514]9/2 orbitals, see Fig. 8(b). These lowest energy proton and neutron orbits are
summarised in Table 6. Rotational bands built upon single- and multi-particle excitations
involving these orbitals have been established in the neighbouring nuclei [3,79]. In the
ensuing discussion both the neutron and proton orbitals will be referred to by their standard
TRS letter notation, see Table 6. In this adopted notation, orbit E is explicitly defined as
the first orbit with parity and signature (, ) = (, 1/2), rather than simply the first
negative-parity orbit as was often used in the early literature. Indeed the lowest negative-
parity orbits now has (, ) = (, +1/2) (i.e. here the F orbital) for both neutrons and
protons, see Figs. 8(a) and 8(b).

4.1. Configurations of the bands

The experimental aligned angular momenta, ix , (or alignment) [28], for bands 1a, 1b,
2a, 2b, 3a and 3b in 171 Hf are shown in Figs. 9(a)(c), respectively. From Fig. 9(a) it can
be observed that bands 1a and 1b do not show any evidence for the AB band crossing
around rotational frequencies of 0.20.3 MeV. This is because bands 1a and 1b are built
upon the A and B orbitals [14], respectively, which effectively blocks the crossing from
taking place. In comparison, bands 2a and 2b and bands 3a and 3b both show evidence
for the AB crossing at 0.20.3 MeV with the associated alignment gain of 10h, see
Figs. 9(b) and 9(c). Bands 2 and 3 are built upon the [512]5/2 and [521]1/2 configurations
[14], respectively. The larger signature splitting of the [521]1/2 configuration (band 3a
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 21

(a) (b)

(c)

Fig. 7. Results of TRS calculations for 171 Hf. These calculations predict that 171 Hf has a stable
axially symmetric deformation of (2 = 0.258, 4 = 0.010, = 0.3 ) for (a) bands 1a and 1b,
(b) bands 2a and 2b, and (c) bands 3a and 3b. The calculations are shown at a rotational frequency of
h = 0.250 MeV.

and 3b) compared with that of the [512]5/2 configuration (bands 2a and 2b) can also
be deduced from Figs. 9(b) and 9(c). No proton band crossings are expected to take
place until rotational frequencies around 0.5 MeV (Ep Fp ) [3,79]. For comparison, in the
neighbouring nuclei the neutron AB band crossing in the yrast band takes place at h =
0.24 MeV with an alignment gain of 6.6h in 169 Hf [29] while the first proton band crossing
Ep Fp is observed to occur at h = 0.51 MeV in 172 Hf [8]. The theoretical predictions are
22 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

(a)

(b)

Fig. 8. Routhians from the CSM calculations based on a WoodsSaxon potential performed at
the deformation extracted from the TRS calculation (2 = 0.258, 4 = 0.010, = 0.3 ) for:
(a) quasi-neutrons and (b) quasi-protons. The parity and signature (, ) convention for the lines
in the plots are: solid lines refer to (, ) = (+, 1/2), dotted lines refer to (, ) = (+, 1/2),
dash-dotted lines refer to (, ) = (, 1/2) and dashed lines refer to (, ) = (, 1/2) quantum
numbers.
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 23

Table 6
The labels for the lowest neutron orbitals around the neutron N = 99 Fermi
surface and the lowest proton orbitals around the Z = 72 proton Fermi surface.
The parameter, n, refers to the nth orbit of a particular parity and signature

Label Neutron orbit (, )n

A [633]7/2 (+, +1/2)1

B [633]7/2 (+, 1/2)1
C [642]5/2 (+, +1/2)2
D [642]5/2 (+, 1/2)2
E [521]1/2 (, 1/2)1
F [521]1/2 (, +1/2)1
G [512]5/2 (, 1/2)2
H [512]5/2 (, +1/2)2

Label Proton orbit (, )

Ap [660]1/2 (+, +1/2)1

Bp [660]1/2 (+, 1/2)1
Cp [404]7/2 (+, +1/2)2
Dp [404]7/2 (+, 1/2)2
Ep [514]9/2 (, 1/2)1
Fp [514]9/2 (, +1/2)1
Gp [541]1/2 (, 1/2)2
Hp [541]1/2 (, +1/2)2

also in reasonable agreement with these observations. Fig. 8(a) shows that the AB neutron
crossing is expected to take place at h 0.23 MeV while the Ep Fp proton crossing is
predicted at h 0.50 MeV, Fig. 8(b). The onset of the first proton band crossing Ep Fp
can be observed in the bands which have been extended to higher rotational frequencies
in this work. For example, the alignment of bands 2a and 3a are observed to upturn at
h 0.50 MeV in Figs. 9(b) and 9(c).
As was first noted in Ref. [4], a new sequence of transitions was established which
decays into band 1a at spin 45/2+ h. The DCO ratio for the 846-keV connecting transition,
has a large value of 1.23(18) which favours an E2 assignment, albeit with a large
uncertainty. Assuming an E2 assignment, the new sequence is most likely the result of
a band crossing. Since band 1a is based on the [633]7/2, A orbit, then the next lowest
expected crossing would be the BC crossing. (The first proton crossing does not occur
until a rotational frequency of 0.5 MeV.) The crossing frequency of 0.38 MeV, see
Fig. 9(a), is however, a little large compared with the A ABC interaction which occurs
at h 0.32 MeV in 169 Hf [7]. Nevertheless, the fact that the interaction is only observed
in one signature (band 1a) based on the A orbital and not the other signature (band 1b)
based on the B orbital is consistent with the aligning particle being based on a configuration
including the B orbital. In this scenario the new branch is understood to be the continuation
of the unfavoured one-quasiparticle A configuration above the BC crossing frequency.
24 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

Fig. 9. The experimental aligned angular momenta, ix for the rotational bands observed in 171 Hf.
(a) bands 1a and 1b, (b) bands 2a and 2b, and (c) bands 3a and 3b. A reference band with Harris
parameters = = 31.4 h2 /MeV and =1 = 62.7 h4 /MeV3 was subtracted from each band. Open
symbols refer to parity and signature configuration (, ) = (+, +1/2) or (, +1/2) and closed
symbols (, ) = (+, 1/2) or (, 1/2).

Table 7
Parameters used in the theoretical B(M1)/B(E2) ratio calculation from the
geometric model, see text for details. Additionally the quadrupole moment was
taken to be 5.5 eb, = 0 and gR = Z/A

Neutron state Shell g-factor Alignment, ix (h) K(h)

[512]5/2 f7/2 0.328 0.0 2.5

[633]7/2+ i13/2 0.177 5.4 3.5
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 25

Table 8
Summary of the configuration assignments for all of the rotational bands in 171 Hf

Band Configuration (, )

Low-K Bands
1a [633]7/2 (+, +1/2)
1b [633]7/2 (+, 1/2)
2a [512]5/2 (, +1/2)
2b [512]5/2 (, 1/2)
3a [521]1/2 (, +1/2)
3b [521]1/2 (, 1/2)
High-K Bands
K = 19/2+ {[404]7/2 [402]5/2} [633]7/2 (+, +1/2) (+, 1/2)
K = 23/2 {[514]9/2 [404]7/2} [633]7/2 (, +1/2) (, 1/2)

In the present work, a similar sequence of tentative transitions has been observed to
decay into band 3a at spin 49/2 h. These transitions appear to form another rotational
band, see Figs. 1 and 2(f). Although a DCO ratio could be obtained for the 360-keV
tentative linking transition, its uncertainty does not permit an unambiguous spin and parity
assignment to be made for this band.
The configuration assignments for all of the bands in 171 Hf are summarised in Table 8.

4.2. (1I = 1)/(1I = 2) intensity branching ratios

In order to validate the configuration assignments for these bands the B(M1)/B(E2)
ratios of reduced transition probabilities have been calculated from the (1I = 1)/(1I = 2)
intensity branching ratios for bands 1a, 1b and bands 2a and 2b using the standard
prescription, see for example Ref. [8]. These values are shown in Figs. 10(a) and 10(b),
respectively. Also shown in the figure are the semi-classical estimates from the geometric
model [30] by the thick lines. The parameters used in the calculation are summarised
in Table 7. In the calculations the signature splitting term was set to be 0.05 MeV and
0.02 MeV for the [633]7/2 and [512]5/2 bands, respectively. In addition, a quadrupole
moment of 5.5 eb was used from the average quadrupole moment extracted from the
DSAM lifetimes for bands 1a and 1b. The theoretical calculations are in reasonable
agreement with the assigned underlying configurations.

4.3. Lifetimes estimated from the TRS calculations

The mean experimental lifetimes extracted for bands 1a, 1b, 3a and 3b in 171 Hf, from
the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method, have been compared with a series of theoretical
TRS calculations. The TRS calculations provide an estimate of the quadrupole deformation
parameter, 2 for a specified configuration as a function of rotational frequency. The
conversion of 2 to a quadrupole moment, Q , in the limit of small and hexadecapole
deformation, 4 is achieved with the transformation [32,33]
26 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

Q = 0.0126ZA2/32 (1 + 0.362) cos( + 30). (5)

Table 9 shows the results of this conversion from the TRS deformation to the quadrupole
moment for a few rotational frequencies for bands 1a, 1b, 3a and 3b.

Fig. 10. B(M1)/B(E2) ratios, calculated from the branching ratios, for the transitions in (a) the
[633]7/2 and (b) the [512]5/2 bands in 171 Hf. The solid line represents the calculated values based
on the Dnau and Frauendorf model [30], see text for details.

Table 9
A few examples of the conversion of the TRS (2 , ) predictions to Q for bands 1a, 1b, 3a and 3b,
see text for details

Frequency Band 1a Band 1b Band 3a Band 3b

(keV) TRS (2 , ) Q TRS (2 , ) Q TRS (2 , ) Q TRS (2 , ) Q
(eb) (eb) (eb) (eb)

0.254 (0.269, 1.4) 7.24 (0.277, 0.3) 7.40 (0.272, 1.1) 7.31 (0.277, 0.8) 7.43
0.295 (0.247, 2.3) 6.66 (0.282, 0.4) 7.55 (0.259, 2.4) 7.01 (0.270, 1.5) 7.28
0.336 (0.243, 2.0) 6.52 (0.274, 0.3) 7.31 (0.261, 2.8) 7.10 (0.272, 1.8) 7.36
0.376 (0.243, 1.9) 6.51 (0.244, 1.7) 6.53 (0.252, 3.2) 6.86 (0.271, 1.8) 7.33
0.417 (0.246, 1.9) 6.51 (0.243, 2.0) 6.52 (0.237, 3.7) 6.44 (0.252, 3.1) 6.85
0.458 (0.273, 0.1) 7.25 (0.276, 0.5) 7.31 (0.225, 4.8) 6.15 (0.233, 4.6) 7.46
0.539 (0.280, 1.5) 7.35 (0.293, 2.7) 7.62 (0.212, 6.4) 5.84 (0.282, 0.9) 7.45
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 27

4.3.1. Bands 1a and 1b

Figs. 11(a) and 11(b) show the comparison of the experimental quadrupole moments
Q , extracted from the DSAM measurement for bands 1a and 1b, respectively with that of
the TRS calculation based on the corresponding signature of the [633]7/2 configuration.
From the figure it can be observed that the experimental DSAM Q measurements for
bands 1a and 1b are consistent with those predicted from the TRS calculation. The average
DSAM quadrupole moments are 56 eb, while that extracted from the TRS is a little
larger 67 eb.

4.3.2. Bands 3a and 3b

Figs. 11(c) and 11(d) show the comparison of the experimental quadrupole moments
Q , extracted from the DSAM measurement for bands 3a and 3b, respectively with that of
the TRS calculation based on the corresponding signature of the [521]1/2 configuration.

Fig. 11. The quadrupole moment, Q , extracted from the forward and backward lineshape fits for (a)
band 1a, (b) bands 1b, (c) band 3a, and (d) band 3b. Open symbols refer to the fits extracted from
the forward detectors and closed symbols refer to the backward angles. The largest of the positive
and negative errors are shown in the plot. The thick dotted line represents the quadrupole moment
extracted from the TRS calculations based on the proposed configurations.
28 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330

The experimental DSAM Q measurements for bands 3a and 3b are in good agreement
with those predicted from the TRS calculation.
In summary, the results of the DSAM analysis for bands 1a, 1b, 3a and 3b reveal that
the quadrupole moments of the bands are large, 57 eb over the entire range where
they could be measured with the present experimental apparatus. One important feature of
these large quadrupole moments, especially for bands 1a and 1b below spin 19/2h, is that
the nucleus is most likely in a deformed axially symmetric shape. A consequence of an
axially symmetric shape is that the K quantum number can be defined. Since the high-K
bands, K = 19/2+ and K = 23/2 , decay to bands 1a and 1b (with K = 7/2), then
these decay transitions are expected to obey the K selection rule [11] and are therefore,
hindered, leading to the isomeric states with halflives of 6 ns and 18 ns, respectively. This
well defined axial symmetry in 171 Hf, and that of the other Hf nuclei, is in contrast to
the behaviour of the heavier mass W and Os nuclei. For example, in 182 Os [12] shape
fluctuations are deemed responsible for the violations of the K selection rule where the
high-K isomers are observed to decay directly to the ground-state bands, bypassing the
sequence of intermediate-K states.

5. Conclusions

In conclusion, the known collective rotational bands in 171 Hf have been extended to high
rotational frequencies. The configurations of the bands have been interpreted within the
framework of the theoretical cranked-shell model with the associated band crossings and
alignments. In addition, the lifetimes of some of the states in the collective rotational bands
have been measured and the deformations, therefore, established. These deformations are
consistent with those expected based on a series of Total Routhian Surface calculations.
The large quadrupole moment for the yrast band has been used to provide strong evidence
that deformed axially symmetric shapes prevail in 171 Hf and that the K selection rule is
responsible for hindering the decay of the higher-K states. This behaviour is consistent
with the large degree of axial symmetry observed in other Hf isotopes and is in contrast to
the shape fluctuations observed in the heavier mass W and Os nuclei.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank D.C. Radford for the use of the RADWARE
software [15], W.T. Milner [16] for the use of the UPAK software, H.-Q. Jin for the
use of JINWARE and P.M. Walker for many useful discussions. The WoodsSaxon
cranking and TRS codes were provided by Dr. W. Nazarewicz and Dr. R. Wyss. Two of us
(A.N.W. and D.E.A.) acknowledge receipt of EPSRC postgraduate studentships and A.T.R.
acknowledges support from the University of Liverpool during the course of this work.
D.M.C. acknowledges receipt of an EPSRC Advanced Fellowship Award. EUROGAM is
jointly funded by the EPSRC (UK) and the IN 2 P 3 (France). ORNL is managed by Lockheed
Martin Energy Research Corp. for the U.S. DOE under contract DE-AC05-96OR22464.
 D.M. Cullen et al. / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 330 29

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