Rotational band on the 31 yr 16+ isomer in 178Hf

High-spin states in Hf have been identified using particle-γ-γ-time techniques and the incomplete fusion reaction, Yb(Be,α3n)Hf. The rotational band associated with the four-quasiparticle T = 31 year, K = 16 isomer in Hf has been established. The g-g values obtained from the in-band decay properties confirm the configuration of the isomer as does its alignment which matches the sum of the alignments of the two K = 8 two-quasiparticle bands that contain the components of the 16 configuration. New information has also been obtained on the four-quasiparticle 14 band and on the two-quasiparticle 6 and 8 bands