Nuclear level structures in 160,162Tb studied with Dy161,163(t,α) reactions

Dy161,163(t,α) angular distributions were measured using 17 MeV tritons from the McMaster University FN tandem Van de Graaff accelerator. Reaction products were analyzed with an Enge split-pole magnetic spectrograph. New nuclear structure information is reported for each of the residual odd–odd nuclides 160Tb and 162Tb. Clear assignments can be made for the K=1 and K=4 bands formed by coupling the 32+[411] proton with the 52+[642] neutron of the 161Dy target and with the 52−[523] neutron of the 163Dy target. Bands formed by transfer of the 52+[413] proton can also be assigned. Two new Gallagher–Moszkowski splitting energies are reported. Although large peaks can be attributed to transfer of the 52−[532] and 72−[523] protons, strong Coriolis mixings of the four two-quasiparticle bands formed by these transfers in each nuclide, coupled with the unknown Gallagher–Moszkowski splittings and Newby shifts, limit the interpretation to some tentative assignments. From reaction Q-values the mass of 162Tb is determined to be ∼80 keV higher than reported in the 2003 mass tables.