Physics at low spin in the mass 160 region: the search for tetrahedral shapes

Abstract The low-lying, odd-spin negative parity bands in the mass 160 region have been identified as candidates for the rotation of a tetrahedral shape, as they have very weak in-band E2 transitions. We report the observation of such bands in 160 Yb and 154 Gd. They are crossed by 2 quasiparticle bands which allow band mixing calculations to be carried out to derive relative quadrupole moments. However, those studied are not consistent with zero, as required for tetrahedral shape. The aligned angular momenta of the bands suggest an octupole vibrational assignment.