Proton-neutron multiplet states and isomers in the odd-odd nucleus I122

Abstract

The level structure of the odd-odd iodine nucleus I122 has been studied by the Sn120 (Li7, 5n)I122 reaction at Elab=58 MeV. Two chopped beams from the 14UD (Unit Doubled) tandem heavy-ion accelerator at the Australian National University were used; one was a nanosecond (ns) pulsed-beam with separation of 1.7 microseconds (μs) and the second one was a 60-μs beam separated by 880μs. Through in-beam and out-of-beam γ-ray spectroscopy, the complex proton-neutron multiplet states, including isomers with half-lives of a few tens of ns to a few tens of μs, have been identified. Collective states based on the proton h11/2 orbital exhibit two kinds of structure depending upon the coupled neutron orbital: a quadrupole vibration when involving the h11/2 orbital and a γ-soft deformed rotation when involving the g7/2 orbital. With spherical shell model and deformed shell-model calculations, the observed level structures are explained.