Near-Yrast Structures in Odd-Odd 122I Nucleus

Excited states of the odd-odd nucleus 122I are investigated via the fusion-evaporation reaction 116Cd(11B,5n) at a beam energy of 68 MeV. The two most strongly populated bands in 122I are observed up to excitation energies around 10.5 MeV. Their possible configurations at lower spins are assigned to πh11/2 ⊗ vh11/2 and πh11/2 ⊗ vd5/2 based on the observed population, B(M1)/B(E2) values, alignments and signature splitting. E1 transitions are observed connecting the πh11/2 ⊗ vd5/2 band to the πh11/2 ⊗ vh11/2 band, which may be evidence of octupole collectivity. Band terminations caused by the full alignment of the valence nucleons outside the 114Sn core are observed in both bands.