Nuclear structure of 157 Sm via π½βdecay of 157 Pm
Excited states of the neutron-rich nucleus 157 Sm were populated through the π½βdecay of 157 Pm , which has a tentatively assigned ground-state spin and parity of π½ π =(5/2 β ). Over 30 levels have been observed, 16 of which are new, and over 45 new πΎ-ray transitions have been placed in the level scheme. An evolution in the ground-state configurations for π = 95 nuclei from 5/2 β β’[523] (Er/Yb), to 5/2 + β’[642] (Dy), to 3/2 β β’[521] (Sm/Gd) can be explained based on increasing deformation from π = 70 to π = 62 and the fact that these three orbitals are energetically close to each other at deformations near π½ 2 β 0.25β0.3. Finally, tentative spin and parity assignments are made for most of the states below 1500 keV based on the decay properties of the levels and using excitation-energy systematics of the various orbitals observed in π = 95 nuclei.