Aspects of nuclear collectivity studied in projectile Coulomb excitation experiments

Projectile Coulomb excitation experiments have been performed on the nuclei 130,132Ba, 154Sm, and 194,196Pt. A detailed description of the experiments and the data analysis is given. The results on absolute decay rates of the low-lying collective states of these nuclei allow for a comparison with predictions from different theoretical models of nuclear quadrupole collectivity. For the nucleus 154Sm the data on the decay rates of the states of the first K=0 band support the assignment of this band as the beta band of this nucleus. The results for the nuclei 194,196Pt allow for a comparison with the selection rules of the O(6) dynamical symmetry of the Interacting Boson Model. The nucleus 196Pt indeed manifests the O(6) symmetry. The results on B(M1;2^+_i \to 2^+_1) values of the nuclei 130,132Ba complete the experimental data on the evolution of the one quadrupole-phonon state of mixed proton-neutron symmetry (2^+_{1,ms}) in the A=130 mass region. The results support the previous observation of increased fragmentation of the 2^+_{1,ms} state for mid-shell nuclei, although one candidate of a 2^+_{1,ms} state of 130Ba, if confirmed, would alter this interpretation