The (t, p) reaction across the shape transitional Gd nuclei

The 152Gd(t, p) 154Gd reaction has been studied using 15 MeV tritons from the McMaster University tandem accelerator facility. The reaction products were analyzed with a magnetic spectrograph. Distinctive L = 0 angular distributions indicated that four 0+ states were populated, the first three with comparable strengths and the fourth with a cross section about an order of magnitude smaller. The 2+3 state at 1418 keV, previously interpreted as the 2+ member of the two-phonon beta-vibrational band, has been populated as strongly as the 2+ member of the ground-state band. The 0+3 and 2+3 states in 154Gd are analogous to the previously observed “spherical” states coexisting in the “deformed” 152Sm isotone.