Two-quasiproton structures in ytterbium-174

Abstract

The two-quasiproton structure of ¹⁷⁴Yb has been investigated in a study of the ¹⁷⁵Lu(t,α)¹⁷⁴Yb reaction. The reaction was performed using a 35.5 MeV triton beam delivered by the Daresbury tandem Van de Graaff accelerator. Magnetic analysis of ejectile ions was achieved using a $\text{QMG}\text{2}$ magnetic spectrometer and ion identification and detection employed a hybrid gas-filled, multielement, focal plane detector. Elements of the detailed nuclear structure of ¹⁷⁴Yb are discussed in terms of the two-quasiproton configurations populated. Of particular interest is a low-lying K^π = 3⁺ band, observed in this reaction and discussed in terms of hexadecapole collectivity. No K^π = 1⁺ bands were observed, and the consequences of this for a microscopic description of the magnetic-dipole-strength distribution in ¹⁷⁴Yb are discussed.