Search for Fingerprints of Tetrahedral Symmetry in 156 Gd

Theoretical predictions suggest the presence of tetrahedral symmetry as an explanation for the vanishing intra-band E2 transitions at the bottom of the odd-spin negative-parity band in ^{156}Gd. The present study reports on experiment performed to address this phenomenon. It allowed to remove certain ambiguities related to the intra-band E2 transitions in the negative-parity bands to determine the new inter-band transitions and reduced probability ratios B(E2)/B(E1) and, for the first time, to determine the experimental uncertainties related to the latter observable.