Quadrupole moments of highly deformed structures in the A approximately 135 region: probing the single-particle motion in a rotating potential.

The latest generation gamma-ray detection system, GAMMASPHERE, coupled with the Microball charged-particle detector, has made possible a new class of nuclear lifetime measurement. For the first time differential lifetime measurements free from common systematic errors for over 15 different nuclei ( >30 rotational bands in various isotopes of Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, and Sm) have been extracted at high spin within a single experiment. This comprehensive study establishes the effective single-particle transition quadrupole moments in the A approximately 135 light rare-earth region.

Floating Bands in Nuclear Spectroscopy.

The methods of heavy ion nuclear reaction spectroscopy are discussed. When combined with large gamma ray arrays and charged particle selection methods, vast amounts of nuclear data are collected and complex nuclear level schemes approaching the extremes of angular momentum result. Often, bands of levels associated with particular nuclei cannot be specifically tied down in the nucleus.